I  .ff^lfc. 


American 

Women  in 

Civic  Work 


BENNETT 


v**-^ 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 


AMERICAN   WOMEN 
IN   CIVIC  WORK 


By 


HELEN  CHRISTINE  BENNETT 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

1919 


Copyright,  1916,  by 
DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 


PREFACE 

Portions  of  the  sketches  which  appear  in  this 
book  have  been  published  serially,  principally  in 
the  Pictorial  Review  and  the  American  Maga- 
zine. With  one  exception,  they  are  stories  of 
women  whom  I  have  met,  and  whose  work  I 
have  personally  investigated.  It  has  taken 
something  over  four  years  to  gather  the  ma- 
terial for  this  little  volume. 

At  the  end  of  the  time  I  find  myself  so  im- 
pressed by  one  fact  which  has  developed  from 
the  matter  collected,  and  particularly  from  ac- 
quaintance with  the  women  themselves,  that  I 
want  to  record  it.  In  almost  every  instance 
they  who  have  done  so  much  for  the  public  wel- 
fare have  stated  that  they  believe  themselves 
selected  by  a  Divine  agency  for  their  particular 
work  and  accountable  to  the  Divinity  for  suc- 
cess or  failure. 

Sophie  Wright,  whose  recent  death  bereft 
New  Orleans  of  its  most  useful  citizen,  said  to 
me: 

*'  If  God  did  not  help  me,  and  want  me  to  do 
this  thing,  how  could  I,  a  sickly  cripple,  accom- 
plish so  much?  "  and  Sophie  Wright  but  put 


vi  PREFACE 

into  plain  language  the  feeling  that  many  of 
the  other  women  indicated  in  more  subtle 
phraseology.  The  sense  of  a  power  beyond 
themselves,  impelling  them  onward,  was  gen- 
eral. So  was  a  great  faith  in  the  efficacy  of 
prayer.  As  I  am  neither  a  religious  nor  a  sen- 
timental person,  the  knowledge  of  this  belief, 
forced  upon  me  after  many  interviews  and 
visits  with  the  women,  had  a  profound  effect. 
In  a  day  of  despair  over  the  lack  of  idealism  in 
the  advance  of  women,  of  antagonism  to  the 
very  phases  of  work  with  which  this  volume 
deals, — that  is,  their  entrance  into  public  af- 
fairs,— of  suspicion  as  to  motives  and  ultimate 
ambitions,  the  leaders,  the  women  who  have 
achieved  success  and  fame,  are  working  as  di- 
rect agents  of  God  to  minister  to  His  people! 
The  simplicity  and  sincerity  with  which  this 
belief  has  been  shown  have  made  it  impossible 
to  doubt.  And  to  the  writer,  at  least,  the 
thought  that  the  most  prominent  women  of  to- 
day are  working  not  for  fame  nor  glory,  nor 
for  the  joy  of  personal  expression,  but  for  the 
service  of  humanity  because  they  believe  that 
God  wants  them  to,  is  worthy  of  consideration. 
Helen  Christine  Bennett. 


CONTENTS 


PAOB 


Preface     v 

Caroline  Bartlett  Crane   ....  1 

Sophie  Wright 47 

Jane  Addams 69 

Kate  Barnard 91 

Albion  Fellows  Bacon 115 

Hannah  Kent  Schoff 139 

Frances  A.  Kellor 161 

Julia  Tutwiler 181 

LucRETiA  L.  Blankenburg  .       .       .       .  207 

Anna  Howard  Shaw 229 

Ella  Flagg  Young 253 


CAROLINE  BAETLETT  CRANE 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE 


**  If  you  please,  madam,  will  yon  come  and 
look  us  over  and  inform  us  what  is  wrong  so 
that  we  may  right  it,  and  what  is  good  so  that 
we  may  continue  it?  " 

The  invitation  has  gone  out  from  fifty-nine 
American  cities.  Their  self-chosen  instructor 
is  a  woman,  Mrs.  Caroline  Bartlett  Crane.  In 
response  to  their  appeal  she  has  called  upon 
them,  submitted  them  to  a  detailed  inspection, 
praised  their  merits,  criticised  their  faults  and 
departed  leaving  behind  her  specific  directions 
for  their  guidance. 

Mrs.  Crane  calls  her  visits  **  sanitary  sur- 
veys." When  a  city  desires  her  services,  it  calls 
upon  her  as  a  professional  municipal  expert 
and  places  the  keys  of  the  municipality  at  her 
disposal.  She  arrives  at  an  appointed  time 
and  personally  investigates  the  water  supply, 
sewers,  street  sanitation,  garbage  collection 
and  disposal,  milk  supply,  meat  supply,  markets, 
bakeries,  food  factories,  schoolhouses,  tene- 
ments and  homes  for  the  poor,  almshouses,  hos- 
pital dispensaries  and  jails,  studies  the  city's 

8 


4        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

resources,  its  system  of  public  health  adminis- 
tration and  any  other  incidentals  which  occur 
to  her.  Then  she  addresses  mass  meetings  of 
citizens  which  are  called  to  hear  her,  reporting 
conditions  as  she  finds  them  and  suggesting  im- 
provements. Finally  these  reports  and  sugges- 
tions are  incorporated  in  a  printed  booklet 
which  serves  as  a  municipal  text-book  for  some 
years  following. 

Some  of  the  cities  which  have  sent  for  Mrs. 
Crane  have  been  aroused  to  the  need  of  her 
services  through  the  necessity  for  self-preserva- 
tion. An  epidemic  of  typhoid,  a  scourge  of  fire, 
or  an  intolerably  bad  milk  or  meat  supply, 
brought  to  them  the  realisation  of  their  need 
for  reform.  But  many  cities  have  aroused 
themselves  to  a  consciousness  of  their  condition. 
These  have  not  asked  to  be  corrected  because 
of  their  deficiencies,  but  because  they  are  al- 
ready so  far  on  the  road  toward  progress  that 
they  welcome  the  stimulus  of  criticism  and  ad- 
vice. Both  they  and  Mrs.  Crane  are  working 
at  a  comparatively  new  task. 

It  took  twenty  years'  experience  to  develop 
Mrs.  Crane  into  what  she  calls  a  "  professional 
sanitarian."  In  1889  the  Eev.  Caroline  Bart- 
lett  was  called  to  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  to  min- 
ister to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  handful  of 
people  who  still  clung  to  the  remnant  of  the 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE      5 

Unitarian  Church  left  in  the  city.  The  Rev. 
Caroline  Bartlett  met  her  new  congregation 
with  something  like  dismay.  She  had  just  left 
her  first  parish  in  South  Dakota  where  hardly 
a  member  was  over  forty  years  of  age.  Here 
the  faithful  remnant  included,  for  the  most 
part,  gray-haired  men  and  women.  They 
needed  a  minister,  they  explained,  for  funerals. 
Small  wonder  had  the  young  pastor  turned 
and  fled  to  more  cheerful  surroundings,  but  she 
stayed  and  sorrowfully  enough  ministered  to 
the  funerals.  At  the  same  time  she  started  a 
search  for  children.  There  were  just  four 
found  available  among  the  congregation  and 
three  of  these  were  in  the  same  family.  But 
with  the  four  she  started  a  Sunday  School. 

It  must  have  been  an  attractive  Sunday 
School,  for  soon  there  were  more  pupils,  and 
more  and  more.  At  the  same  time  the  congre- 
gation increased  and  under  the  stimulating  in- 
fluence of  their  pastor  began  to  hold  mid-weekly 
meetings  for  the  purpose  of  studying  their 
town.  The  young  pastor  saw  nothing  unusual 
in  their  choice  of  a  study.  The  church  was  to 
minister  to  the  needs  of  the  people  here  and 
hereafter,  and  three  years  of  study  convinced 
her  that  here  the  people  had  many  needs.  So 
when  the  congregation  grew  too  big  for  the 
little  Gothic  church  and  money  was  found  for 


6        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

a  new  one,  the  church  that  was  planned  included 
features  unusual  at  that  time,  and  not  so  very 
common  now. 

The  new  church  had  a  kindergarten,  because 
there  was  none  in  the  town ;  it  had  a  gymnasium 
for  women,  a  manual  training  department,  a 
domestic  science  department.  It  did  not  have 
a  library  nor  a  gymnasium  for  men  because 
these  were  found  in  the  town,  and  the  church 
was  not  starting  an  institution  to  rival  those  in 
existence,  it  was  filling  the  people's  need.  The 
new  church  was  renamed  the  People's  Church, 
and  with  the  relinquishing  of  sectarian  boun- 
daries it  grew  in  numbers  and  in  power.  And 
then  just  when  her  people  were  beginning  to 
feel  that  their  young  pastor  was  their  own  pe- 
culiar possession,  they  had  demonstrated  to 
them  that  she  had  her  own  life  to  live,  as  well 
as  to  help  them. 

One  New  Year's  eve  a  musicale  was  an- 
nounced. As  usual  the  church  was  full  to  over- 
flowing. Suddenly  the  organ  overture  began  to 
play  a  wedding  march  and  before  the  excited 
congregation  could  catch  breath,  their  pastor, 
clad  in  white,  stepped  to  the  altar,  met  there 
one  of  the  city's  leading  physicians,  and  before 
anyone  could  interfere  became  Mrs.  Crane. 
Kalamazoo  talked  late  that  night  and  went  to 
bed  with  an  uneasy  mind.    Like  the  small  girl, 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE     7 

it  was  afraid  of  the  "  never-again -the- same- 
ness "  supposed  to  come  when  a  woman  enters 
married  life.  But  Mrs.  Crane  continued  to  min- 
ister to  their  needs  as  thoughtfully  and  as  ener- 
getically as  Miss  Bartlett  had  before  her.  One 
of  her  first  efforts  was  to  start  a  class  in  mar- 
keting, cooking,  housekeeping,  nursing  and  sew- 
ing, which  she  herself  promptly  joined.  Now 
although  Mrs.  Crane  believes  that  the  church 
should  minister  to  the  temporal  needs  of  its 
people,  she  also  believes  that  when  the  need 
ceases  it  should  turn  its  energy  into  new  fields. 
In  course  of  time  Kalamazoo  awakened  to  the 
fact  that  kindergartens  and  cooking  courses  and 
manual  training  are  excellent  things  and  started 
to  incorporate  them  in  its  public  schools.  Then 
the  People's  Church  closed  its  classes  in  those 
branches. 

As  there  was  no  good,  wholesome  dining- 
room  for  working  women,  it  converted  its  base- 
ment into  a  restaurant  where  good  dinners  are 
served  nightly  at  a  cost  of  about  ten  cents. 
The  kindergarten  was  kept  for  the  Sunday 
service  so  that  parents  might  leave  their  chil- 
dren and  attend  church — not  necessarily  the 
People's  Church — upon  the  Sabbath  day. 

When  Mrs.  Crane  found  that  church  work 
was  running  smoothly  she  began  to  look  far- 
ther.   One  of  the  first  things  she  noticed  was 


8        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

that  the  alleys  and  back  yards  of  the  business 
section  were  very  dirty.  They  were  much  like 
the  back  yards  of  the  average  town,  but  that 
fact  had  no  weight  with  Mrs.  Crane.  Sur- 
reptitiously she  photographed  a  number  of  the 
worst  places.  Then  she  called  together  a  num- 
ber of  progressive  women  from  her  own  and 
other  churches  and  organised  a  Civic  Improve- 
ment League.  At  one  of  the  first  meetings 
there  was  a  lantern  exhibition  of  Kalamazoo 
alleys  and  back  yards.  As  picture  after  picture 
appeared  upon  the  screen  the  inhabitants  of 
Kalamazoo  squirmed  in  their  seats.  Mrs.  Crane 
was  merciful  and  tactful  enough  to  suppress 
names  and  localities,  and  every  owner  of  a  yard 
that  was  shown  made  up  his  mind  instantly  that 
no  one  should  ever  recognise  that  yard  as  his. 
As  a  consequence  Kalamazoo  went  through  a 
cleaning  period  in  the  next  twenty-four  hours 
that  put  the  slides  hopelessly  out  of  date. 
There  wasn't  a  back  yard  in  the  town  that  even 
faintly  resembled  them.  The  Mayor  issued  a 
proclamation  for  an  annual  cleaning  day  and 
proper  receptacles  for  ashes  and  garbage  were 
provided.  Mrs.  Crane  undertook  to  see  that  this 
effect  was  permanent.  Let  *'  sanitary  "  res- 
taurants, hotels,  plumbing  establishments  look 
out  that  their  rear  entrances  were  as  **  sani- 
tary "  as  their  front.    Mrs.  Crane's  ever  active 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  9 

camera  made  truthful  photos  and  these  were 
quietly  mailed  to  the  transgressors.  Usually  no 
other  warning  was  necessary.  The  back  yards 
of  Kalamazoo  continued  clean.  Next,  Mrs. 
Crane  noticed  that  by  contrast  the  streets  of 
the  city  were  woefully  dirty. 

After  much  hard  work  she  induced  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Civic  Improvement  League  to  ask 
the  City  Council  for  permission  to  keep  six 
blocks  of  the  main  business  section  clean  for 
three  months,  as  a  demonstration  of  how  the 
work  should  be  done.  The  women  of  the  League 
at  once  began  a  study  of  the  street-cleaning  sys- 
tem introduced  into  New  York  City  by  Colonel 
Waring,  and  when  the  Council  at  last  gave  a 
reluctant  consent  to  the  experiment  they  kneiv 
how  the  work  should  be  done.  When  the  time 
drew  near  it  was  arranged  that  the  women 
should  act  as  inspectors,  relieving  each  other, 
so  that  none  would  be  overworked,  and  that 
their  duty  would  be  to  follow  and  supervise  the 
men  with  their  handbrooms  and  small  carts. 
At  the  moment  of  starting  the  yellow  press  de- 
posited a  number  of  reporters  armed  with 
cameras  in  Kalamazoo  and  the  women  in- 
spectors fled  in  haste.  To  be  sure  they  gave 
excuses.  One  woman  found  a  suddenly  sick 
baby,  another  unexpected  company,  a  third  was 
really  ill.    Mrs.  Crane  listened  and  said  noth- 


10        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

ing.  She  didn't  wait  to  get  angry  or  afraid. 
She  walked  out  from  her  home  and  faced  the 
cameras.  And  for  three  months  daily  she  in- 
spected every  one  of  the  six  blocks  experimented 
upon — alone.  Every  night  she  bathed  her  ach- 
ing feet  and  every  morning  she  got  up  and  set 
her  lips  firmly  together  and  went  on. 

At  the  end  of  three  months  she  had  reduced 
the  cost  of  cleaning  those  six  blocks  $3.89  per 
day.  The  streets  were  cleaner  than  any  resi- 
dent had  believed  possible  and  the  City  Council 
was  only  too  glad  to  adopt  her  methods  as  its 
own.  The  Civic  Improvement  League  made  up 
for  its  desertion  by  placing  galvanised  iron 
cans  upon  the  street  corners  and  by  organising 
Junior  Civic  Leagues  among  school  children 
who  promised  to  help  to  keep  the  streets  free 
from  rubbish. 

This  civic  service  was  undertaken  two  years 
after  Mrs.  Crane  had  resigned  her  pastorate 
on  account  of  a  prolonged  illness.  When  she 
recovered  Kalamazoo  needed  her  more  than  the 
church  did — for  the  church  was  doing  very  well 
and  the  city  had  other  weaknesses  besides  dirty 
streets.  One  of  the  Kalamazoo  weaknesses  was 
the  administration  of  charity.  Kalamazoo  is 
a  middle-sized  city.  It  has  outgrown  the  village 
stage  where  everyone  knows  everyone  else,  and 
it   has   not   yet   become   a   great   city   where 


CAKOLINE  BAKTLETT  CRANE  11 

evil  is  so  obvious  that  it  is  a  part  of 
the  city  government  to  attend  to  all  its  mani- 
festations. The  good  folk  of  Kalamazoo  hardly 
realised  that  they  had  grown  beyond  the  time 
when  it  was  well  to  give  to  him  that  asked.  As 
a  result,  certain  noted  vagabonds  and  certain 
shrewd  families  with  a  sharp  eye  toward  mak- 
ing an  easy  living  were  having  an  excellent 
time,  bountifully  supported  by  the  unthinking 
citizens.  Mrs.  Crane  organised  a  Charity  Or- 
ganisation Branch  of  the  Civic  Improvement 
League.  She  asked  churches,  societies  and  in- 
dividuals to  direct  their  funds  and  appeals  for 
help  to  this  branch.  She  begged  housewives 
not  to  feed  wanderers,  reminding  them  that  in 
all  probability  they  were  helping  some  desert- 
ing husband  or  bad  son  to  more  evil  ways.  She 
promised  to  take  care  of  every  case  referred  to 
her.  And  she  did.  She  did  so  well  that  the  city 
of  Kalamazoo  decided  to  contribute  fifty  dol- 
lars monthly  to  the  Charity  Organisation 
Branch,  "  for,"  said  the  Mayor,  "  Mrs.  Crane 
makes  it  go  five  times  as  far  as  we  can." 

This  Chai^ty  Organisation  Branch  went  to 
work  with  a  will.  It  decided  to  find  or  to  pro- 
vide work  for  every  self-respecting  applicant. 
It  had  no  trouble  in  finding  work  for  the  women, 
and  it  promptly  installed  a  woodyard  for  men 
out  of  work.    All  the  husky  tramps  who  had 


12        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

found  Kalamazoo  a  delightful  and  profitable 
stopping  place  promptly  left  the  town.  On  the 
road  they  notified  their  brother  hoboes  of  the 
change  in  Kalamazoo,  so  that  the  number  of 
Weary  Willies  visiting  Kalamazoo  included 
only  those  strays  who  had  missed  the  warning. 
The  Branch  also  determined  to  root  out  shift- 
lessness  among  the  poor,  a  Herculean  task. 

''  They  must  be  taught  to  save,"  said  Mrs. 
Crane. 

She  arranged  with  a  local  savings  bank  for 
the  acceptance  of  small  accounts,  from  one 
penny  upwards.  It  was  astonishing  how  those 
accounts  grew.  In  the  eight  years  since  they 
have  been  inaugurated  sixty-five  thousand 
three  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  have  been  de- 
posited. 

Every  penny  of  this  was  saved  by  people  who 
never  had  known  what  it  meant  to  put  a  dollar 
away  for  a  rainy  day.  The  Branch  also  waged 
a  war  upon  deserting  husbands.  In  these  cases 
frequently  the  discipline  was  needed  by  the 
wife.  When  a  husband  deserted  from  an  un- 
tidy, unattractive  home,  Mrs.  Crane  promptly 
sent  a  visiting  housekeeper  to  instruct  the  wife 
to  keep  the  home  attractive.  "  We  will  make 
your  husband  do  what  is  right  if  you  will  do 
your  part,"  was  the  nature  of  the  bargain. 
Stimulated  by  this  promise,  and  enlightened  by 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  13 

the  knowledge  brought  by  her  instructor,  the 
discouraged  woman  went  to  work. 

The  Branch  also  supplies  trained  nurses  to 
visit  homes  where  a  nurse  is  needed,  savings 
collectors  to  keep  the  people  awake  to  the  need 
of  putting  money  into  their  accounts,  and 
friendly  visitors  to  dispense  cheer  generally. 
According  to  Mrs.  Crane's  doctrine  there  are 
no  worthy  and  unworthy  poor.  There  are  just 
poor.  If  they  do  what  is  wrong  they  need  more 
than  food  and  clothes  and  work ;  they  need  guid- 
ance and  advice  and  discipline.  And  because 
they  need  these  they  are  not  sent  away,  but 
made  to  stay  and  take  the  help  that  is  offered. 
All  this  effort  means  a  good  deal  of  expense. 
Mrs.  Crane  has  very  definite  ideas  as  to  ex- 
pense in  charity  work.  She  does  not  believe  in 
charity  balls  nor  charity  fairs  nor  charity 
"  hold-ups."  Contributions  to  the  Charity 
Branch  are  from  church  collections,  from  the 
city  and  from  individuals  who  are  philan- 
thropically  inclined. 

There  are  no  pet  charities  in  Kalamazoo  and 
no  one  society  is  trying  to  outdo  another — for 
there  is  but  one.  Consequently  a  little  money 
goes  a  long  way.  Nor  was  all  this  work  accom- 
plished in  Kalamazoo  itself.  To  rid  the  city  of 
tramps,  Mrs.  Crane  appealed  to  the  railroads, 
and  freight  cars  through  Michigan  are  strictly 


14        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

watched.  To  prevent  mortgaging  the  goods  of 
the  poor  at  extortionate  rates  of  interest,  she 
started  a  movement  which  resulted  in  a  State 
law  making  it  a  felony  to  charge  more  than  a 
specified  rate  of  interest  upon  any  chattel  mort- 
gage loan. 

In  1903,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Household  Economics  of  the  Twentieth  Century 
Club  of  Kalamazoo,  Mrs.  Crane  attempted  to 
secure  a  speaker  on  meat  inspection.  All  the 
officials  importuned  were  busy.  They  wrote 
Mrs.  Crane  kindly  letters  and  regretted  their 
inability  to  help  her  out,  but  they  could  not  come 
to  Kalamazoo. 

The  usual  thing  for  a  chairman  to  do  upon 
such  an  occasion  is  to  read  the  letters  from  the 
officials,  to  neatly  express  her  own  regret  at  the 
unfortunate  occurrence  and  to  skip  that  part 
of  the  programme.  But  such  a  course  never 
suggested  itself  to  Mrs.  Crane.  Meat  was  on 
the  programme  planned,  therefore  meat  must 
be  talked  about.  If  all  the  State  officials  were 
busy,  she  would  simply  have  to  do  it  herself. 
She  did  not  know  anything  about  meats  before 
they  came  into  her  own  hands,  but  this  fact 
did  not  deter  her  at  all.  Nor  did  she  hunt  up 
a  book  and  read  up  on  meats. 

"  For  what,"  she  argued,  '*  is  the  use  of  a 
book  when  there  are  real  things  to  learn  from?  " 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  15 

So  she  hunted  up  all  the  butchers  and  abattoirs, 
and  slaughter  sheds  about  Kalamazoo.  When 
she  had  located  seven  she  invited  the  wife  of 
the  Mayor,  and  the  wife  of  a  former  mayor  and 
two  men  to  visit  with  her.  Without  sending 
word  of  their  intentions,  the  five  visited  six  of 
the  seven  slaughter  houses  in  a  day  and  a  half. 
The  party  started  out  resolved  not  to  comment 
or  to  show  any  surprise  at  anything  they  saw. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  first  house  they  were 
glad  of  the  resolution.  Horror  and  disgust 
robbed  them  all  of  power  to  speak  words  ade- 
quate to  meet  the  conditions.  The  buildings 
were  old  abandoned  barns  or  sheds,  unpainted, 
warped  and  rotting.  Dense  black  cobwebs  cov- 
ered the  ceilings  and  upper  walls,  while  within 
six  feet  of  the  floors,  walls,  posts  and  shelves 
were  caked  with  blood,  grime,  grease,  mold  and 
putrid  flesh.  Without  pro\dsion  for  drainage, 
the  floors  let  through  their  cracks  blood  and 
refuse  which  there  remained,  putrefying.  The 
offal  of  freshly  killed  animals  was  fed  to  those 
waiting  in  the  pens.  Rats  abounded.  Revolting 
as  these  details  appeared,  they  were  less  dan- 
gerous than  the  fact  that  animals  brought  to 
the  houses  were  accepted  unquestioningly  in 
any  condition,  diseased  or  well,  and  promptly 
made  away  with. 
Mrs.  Crane  and  her  committee  returned  home, 


16        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

literally  ill.  But  the  lecture  was  given  to  the 
club.  More  than  that,  Mrs.  Crane  repeated  it 
to  the  City  Council.  The  members  of  the  Coun- 
cil were  aghast;  they  promised  to  remedy  con- 
ditions at  once. 

Then  the  district-attorney  found  that  under 
the  city  charter  nothing  could  be  done  with  the 
slaughter  houses  as  they  were  outside  city 
limits;  it  was  beyond  the  city's  power  even  to 
refuse  the  entrance  of  the  goods  to  the  city's 
markets.  And  the  Council  regretted  its  inabil- 
ity as  the  State  ofiScials  had  done,  and  everybody 
considered  the  matter  ended.  That  is,  except 
Mrs.  Crane. 

She  determined  to  find  out  whether  Kala- 
mazoo was  an  exceptional  offender  in  the  matter 
of  bad  slaughter  houses  and  lack  of  inspection 
of  animals.  So  she  wrote  to  the  Mayor  of 
Grand  Eapids  and  the  Mayor  replied  that  no 
such  conditions  existed  there.  Mrs.  Crane  had 
her  doubts  and  went  to  Grand  Rapids.  She 
found  the  same  conditions  as  in  Kalamazoo, 
and  convinced  the  Mayor  that  he  had  been  mis- 
taken. She  went  to  Owosso  and  Lansing  and 
found  things  no  better.  Then  she  determined 
to  put  the  matter  before  the  State  legislature. 
It  was  a  year  and  a  half  until  the  legislature 
met,  so  she  had  plenty  of  time.  She  sent  to 
every  State  in  the  Union  for  every  meat  inspec- 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  17 

tion  ordinance  in  existence,  then  she  went  to 
talk  to  the  State  Board  of  Health.  The  State 
Board  of  Health  immediately  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  look  into  the  matter  and  the  com- 
mittee never  was  called.  Mrs.  Crane  was  on 
the  committee  and  decided  that  if  anything  was 
to  be  done  she  would  have  to  do  it.  So  she 
sent  for  more  information,  to  Germany,  New 
Zealand,  France,  Argentine  Eepublic  and  read 
everything  she  received  in  reply. 

By  the  time  the  legislature  convened  she  knew 
the  meat  laws  in  pretty  nearly  every  country 
on  earth  and  in  every  State  in  the  Union.  She 
prepared  a  bill  providing  that  cities  in  the  State 
could  make  their  own  meat  inspection  ordi- 
nances. She  was  a  bit  afraid  of  the  bill,  for 
although  by  this  time  she  knew  a  good  deal 
about  meat,  she  still  knew  nothing  about  law. 
So  she  took  the  bill  first  to  a  lawyer  friend  and 
then  to  the  State  attorney-general,  and  when 
it  had  been  pronounced  constitutional,  she  man- 
aged to  get  the  bill  introduced.  And  then  she 
heard  that  the  bill  was  scheduled  to  be  de- 
feated. Someone  telegraphed  Mrs.  Crane  of  this 
fact.  It  was  at  night,  but  she  got  out  of  bed 
and  took  a  train  for  Lansing.  On  the  way  she 
worked  out  a  set  of  reasons  for  the  passage 
of  the  bill.  When  she  arrived  at  Lansing  she 
had  these  printed.    She  sat  up  all  night,  rushed 


18        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

the  freshly  printed  reasons  to  the  capitol  and 
saw  them  placed  on  the  desk  of  every  legislator. 
She  was  given  the  privilege  of  the  floor,  made 
a  speech  in  favour  of  the  bill  and  it  passed  by 
a  comit  of  sixty-one  to  sixteen.  She  went  home 
and  drafted  a  city  ordinance  which  would  for- 
ever do  away  with  filthy  slaughter  houses  and 
uninspected  animal  slaughter,  had  it  pronounced 
constitutional  and  presented  it  to  the  City 
Council.  After  several  years  of  strife,  during 
which  Mrs.  Crane  found  opposed  to  her  an  or- 
ganised body  of  local  butchers,  the  City  Council 
accepted  and  passed  it. 

Michigan  newspapers  had  made  familiar  the 
name  of  the  woman  who  knew  more  about  meat 
and  meat  inspection  than  legislators  or  health 
officers.  And  the  people  of  Michigan  began  to 
inquire,  "  Who  is  Caroline  Bartlett  Crane? 
"Where  does  she  come  from?  "  The  people  of 
Kalamazoo  found  that  Kalamazoo  was  becom- 
ing a  favourite  stopping-place  for  visitors. 

The  Mayor  of  Saginaw  was  the  first  to  ask 
Mrs.  Crane  to  visit  a  city  outside  her  own  for 
the  purpose  of  inspection.  Mrs.  Crane  did  not 
care  about  going.  She  had  her  hands  pretty 
full  at  Kalamazoo.  But  the  Mayor  was  urgent, 
and  finally  Mrs.  Crane  went.  Arrived  at  Sag- 
inaw, she  visited  the  local  slaughter  houses,  as- 
sisted the  officials  in  drafting  a  meat  inspection 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRA^E  19 

ordinance  for  the  city,  and  addressed  a  public 
meeting  called  by  the  Mayor.  This  was  her  first 
inspection  and  she  had  no  idea  that  it  would 
not  be  the  last.  But  calls  upon  her  became  fre- 
quent and  urgent  and  in  her  own  State  she 
visited  and  inspected  Big  Kapids,  Calumet, 
Hastings  and  Bay  City. 

She  was  asked  to  inspect  and  report  on 
slaughter  houses  and  meat  inspection,  but  work 
done  in  Kalamazoo  proved  a  foundation  for 
work  that  was  general.  Cities  which  called 
Mrs.  Crane  found  that  she  knew  a  great  deal 
more  than  they  about  problems  common  to  most 
cities,  and  Mrs.  Crane  mastered  every  new 
problem  by  a  thorough  study  not  only  of  all 
the  printed  matter  available  thereon,  but  as  in 
the  case  of  meat  inspection  by  actual  investi- 
gations of  the  best  and  worst  concrete  exposi- 
tions to  be  found. 

Demands  for  inspection  grew,  until,  harassed 
for  time,  Mrs.  Crane  decided  to  put  a  price  upon 
her  services,  and  to  formulate  a  definite  pro- 
fessional plan  which  she  called  a  "  sanitary 
survey."  To-day  the  cities  that  call  upon  her 
gladly  pay  for  her  services,  furnish  funds  for 
all  expenses,  a  secretary,  automobiles,  theatres 
and  halls  for  meetings,  official  authority  to  con- 
duct her  investigations  and  an  escort  to  accom- 
pany her. 


20        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

To  the  women  of  the  fifty-nine  progressive 
cities  must  be  given  much  of  the  credit  of  the 
calls  for  Mrs.  Crane.  In  1908  the  Women's 
Club  of  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  asked  her  to  make 
a  general  survey  of  sanitary  conditions.  In 
1910  she  received  a  request  for  a  more  extended 
investigation  from  the  same  club,  together  with 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Board  of  Trade, 
the  Teachers'  Association,  the  Juvenile  City 
League,  and  the  Erie  High  School  Association. 
At  Nashville,  Tennessee,  the  movement  orig- 
inated with  the  women  of  the  Tennessee  Fed- 
eration of  Women's  Clubs,  but  before  Mrs. 
Crane  accepted,  the  State,  City  and  County 
Boards  of  Health,  the  Mayor  and  City  Council, 
the  Board  of  Trade,  the  Centennial  Club,  the 
Housekeepers'  Club,  the  Anti-Tuberculosis 
League,  and  fifteen  additional  civic  and  literary 
societies  had  joined  in  the  invitation.  In  Roch- 
ester, New  York,  the  Mayor,  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, Board  of  Education,  Public  Health  As- 
sociation, City  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs, 
Council  of  Jewish  Women,  Social  Settlement, 
Children's  Aid  Society,  Humane  Society,  and 
Daughters  of  the  American  Eevolution  joined 
with  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial 
Union,  and  forgetting  class,  creed  and  office, 
asked  Mrs.  Crane  to  come  and  help  them  go 
forward.    Kentucky  and  Minnesota  went  at  the 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  21 

thing  thoroughly.  The  Kentucky  Board  of 
Health  and  the  State  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs  combined  their  resources  and  secured 
Mrs.  Crane  for  a  five  weeks'  tour  of  the  State 
with  inspection  of  the  twelve  leading  cities, 
while  the  State  of  Minnesota  a  little  later, 
through  its  State  Board  of  Health,  State  Fed- 
eration of  Women's  Clubs  and  the  Commercial 
Clubs  of  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and  Duluth,  en- 
joyed an  even  more  thorough  survey,  covering 
the  seventeen  leading  cities  and  towns  and  oc- 
cupying nearly  two  months. 

In  1913,  under  auspices  of  the  State  Board 
of  Health,  State  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
State  Federation  of  Clubs,  Mrs.  Crane  made  a 
survey  of  thirteen  leading  cities  in  the  State 
of  Washington.  Here,  as  in  her  State-wide 
campaigns,  she  was  sworn  in  as  a  State  Health 
Officer  during  the  period  of  her  survey. 

How  Mrs.  Crane  can  accomplish  so  much  in 
so  brief  a  time  spent  in  the  field  can  be  under- 
stood only  when  one  knows  her  method  and 
also  the  amount  of  data  gathered  by  her  in  ad- 
vance of  her  visit. 

In  the  fall  of  1912  Mrs.  Crane  accepted  an 
invitation  to  visit  and  survey  the  city  of  Mont- 
gomery, Alabama.  The  women  of  the  city  had 
been  convinced  of  the  need  for  Mrs.  Crane  some 
two  years  before  and  had  patiently  waited  and 


22        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

worked  all  that  time  for  her  coming.  The  male 
l^opulation  proved  indifferent,  or  amused,  or 
openly  antagonistic  to  such  a  proposition. 
Montgomery  was  well  able  to  take  care  of  her- 
self, why  send  for  an  outsider?  But  the  women 
persisted  and  after  two  years  the  men  resigned 
themselves.  The  City  Commission  frankly  ad- 
mitted that  they  did  not  care  particularly  about 
it.  ''  But,"  said  the  President,  *'  the  women  got 
hot  after  us  and  would  not  let  us  alone,  so  we 
voted  one  hundred  dollars  to  the  fund,  and 
agreed  to  give  Mrs.  Crane  any  help  she  needed." 
This  vital  matter  settled,  a  triumphant  invi- 
tation was  dispatched  to  Mrs.  Crane.  An  an- 
swer arrived  promptly  and  was  read  eagerly. 
Then  the  women  turned  to  each  other  in  dis- 
may. For  the  letter  of  acceptance  contained 
two  startling  requests.  The  first  was  that  an 
inclosed  list  of  questions  should  be  answered,  at 
once.  The  second  demanded  that  until  her  ar- 
rival, as  far  as  possible,  all  news  of  her  coming 
be  kept  a  secret.  The  committee  groaned  as 
they  read  over  the  questions.  There  were  more 
than  a  hundred!  Mrs.  Crane  wanted  to  know 
the  acreage,  property  valuation,  tax  rate  and 
charter  limit  on  taxation.  She  asked  for  a  map 
showing  all  sewers  and  sewer  outlets,  the  loca- 
tion of  parks,  playgrounds  and  recreation  cen- 
tres.    She  inquired  the  nature  of  recent  bond 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  23 

issues,  what  they  were  for,  how  many  had  been 
approved  and  how  many  rejected  by  the  people 
within  the  last  ten  years.  She  asked  the  bond- 
ing limit,  the  method  of  municipal  accounting 
and  reporting,  the  public  utilities  owned  and 
operated  by  the  municipality.  She  wanted  the 
charter  date,  its  home-rule  features,  its  amend- 
ments. The  source  and  quantity  of  water,  its 
storage  and  treatment,  its  cost,  the  soil  condi- 
tions, various  kinds  of  street  pavements,  dairies, 
abattoirs,  markets,  bakeries,  and  the  municipal 
regulations  affecting  them,  housing  ordinance, 
milk  and  meat  inspection  ordinances,  status  of 
the  smoke  nuisance,  school  census  and  appro- 
priation, hospital  and  dispensary  equipment,  all 
were  the  subjects  of  minute  detailed  question- 
ing, and  every  answer  was  to  be  signed  by  an 
official  in  a  position  to  know  the  facts. 

'*  Mrs.  Crane  will  know  a  lot  about  Mont- 
gomery before  she  sets  foot  in  it,"  remarked 
one  committee  member  sagely. 

"  Yes,"  retorted  another,  "  and  so  will  we!  " 
The  committee  members  looked  at  each  other 
in  sudden  enlightenment.  The  education  of 
Montgomery  had  already  begun !  It  was  hard 
work  to  get  answers  to  that  list  of  questions 
without  the  general  public  getting  an  inkling  of 
what  it  was  all  about.  The  women  stole  in  and 
out  of  public  offices  as  quietly  as  possible,  bind- 


24        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

ing  every  official  to  silence  as  they  secured  the 
necessary  information.  On  the  street  corners 
and  in  private  places  they  whispered  confi- 
dences, always  ready  to  change  instantly  to 
some  other  topic  if  someone  not  in  the  secret 
happened  along.  The  questions  were  answered 
and  the  reply  mailed  and  Mrs.  Crane  well  on  her 
way  before  somebody  told.  Just  three  days  be- 
fore her  arrival  the  morning  paper  announced 
her  visit. 

The  committee  held  a  wrathful  session,  but  no 
weak  spot  could  they  discover. 

' '  And, ' '  wailed  the  youthful  president  of  the 
City  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  "  what  will 
Mrs.  Crane  think  of  us?  What  can  I  say  to 
her?  " 

But  when  Mrs.  Crane  stepped  from  the  car 
on  Tuesday  morning,  November  twelfth,  she 
seemed  little  disturbed  by  the  confession.  She 
looked  into  the  anxious  faces  of  the  ten  persons 
who  awaited  her,  a  delegation  from  the  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs,  several  Health  Officers, 
one  member  of  the  City  Commission,  and  smiled 
reassuringly. 

"  They  haven't  had  time  to  clean  up  much, 
even  if  they  did  get  ready  for  me,"  she  said. 
**  Now  let  us  get  to  work."  The  delegation 
were  aghast.  They  were  prepared  to  escort 
Mrs.  Crane  to  her  hotel  and  to  wait  until  she 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE     25 

was  rested  and  refreshed.  But  Mrs.  Crane  evi- 
dently was  quite  ready  for  business.  The  Com- 
missioner of  Health  handed  her  the  badge 
which  made  her  for  the  nonce  an  authorised 
City  Official,  and  Mrs.  Crane  pinned  it  under 
the  lapel  of  her  coat  out  of  sight  but  ready  in 
case  of  emergency.  She  jumped  into  a  waiting 
automobile,  tucked  her  baggage  in  with  her  and 
asked  to  be  taken  to  the  city  waterworks. 

The  survey  was  on!  The  machines  which 
were  to  carry  the  escort  were  quickly  filled  and 
fell  into  line  behind.  Arrived  at  the  water- 
works, Mrs.  Crane  inspected  them  carefully,  the 
wells,  the  surrounding  area,  the  protection  of 
reservoirs,  the  sanitary  and  bacteriologic 
weekly  reports,  and  satisfied  herself  that  there 
was  no  physical  connection  between  the  artesian 
system  and  the  river  supply  used  for  commer- 
cial purposes.  She  made  but  few  comments  and 
then  asked  to  see  the  municipal  garbage  in- 
cinerator. En  route  the  visiting  sanitarian 
closely  observed  streets,  alleys  and  back  yards, 
stopping  the  machines  to  walk  where  special 
scrutiny  was  needed  and  asking  continually  for 
specific  information  from  the  accompanying  of- 
ficials. It  was  one  o'clock  when  the  party 
stopped  for  lunch.  In  the  hotel  where  luncheon 
was  served  an  association  of  advertising  men 
were  holding  a  meeting.    It  had  been  arranged 


26        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

that  Mrs.  Crane  should  speak  to  them.  The 
men  welcomed  her  cordially,  and  after  two 
hours'  inspection,  Mrs.  Crane  congratulated 
them  upon  the  city  water  system  and  the  in- 
cinerator, and  asked  their  co-operation  in  a 
plan  for  progressively  ridding  the  town  of  the 
smoke  nuisance.  Then  she  returned  to  the  autos 
and  asked  to  be  taken  to  some  of  the  dairies. 
By  this  time  the  number  of  machines  had  in- 
creased to  four  and  the  accompanying  escort 
had  grown  so  large  that  the  cars  were  crowded. 
Through  the  town  they  ran  in  line,  making  quite 
an  imijosing  touring  expedition,  while  the  un- 
initiated citizens  sursj^eyed  the  overflowing  loads 
of  women  in  open-eyed  wonder.  Arrived  at  the 
first  dairy,  men  and  women  alighted  and  pre- 
pared to  follow  Mrs.  Crane. 

**  Now  keep  right  with  me,"  urged  that  lady, 
"  and  do  not  say  anything  either  favourable  or 
otherwise."  It  was  a  difficult  request  to  comply 
with.  The  women  walked  sedately  over  the 
rough  ground  into  the  stables,  holding  their 
skirts  tightly  about  them,  their  eyes  fixed  on 
Mrs.  Crane.  When  the  visiting  sanitarian 
looked  up,  seventeen  anxious  pairs  of  eyes  fol- 
lowed hers.  Armed  by  their  housewifely  ex- 
perience, the  women  often  knew  instinctively 
what  was  good  and  what  was  bad.  Silently  they 
observed  every  cobweb,  every  fly,  every  sign  of 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  27 

disorder.  With  respect  they  listened  to  Mrs. 
Crane's  conversation  with  the  dairyman,  as  to 
the  feeding  and  care  of  the  cattle,  and  the  dis- 
cussion of  temperature  requirements,  pressure 
sterilisers,  bacterial  counts,  and  butter-fat  con- 
tent with  the  city  milk  inspector.  They  in- 
spected the  watering  troughs,  the  milk  house 
with  its  separator  and  cans.  They  nodded 
wisely  as  Mrs.  Crane  explained  the  advantages 
of  the  excellent  partly  covered  milk  pails  used, 
and  examined  the  immaculate  cheesecloth  and 
antiseptic  absorbent  cotton  used  as  strainers. 
And  they  smiled  with  amusement  but  still  more 
with  satisfaction  when  after  minute  questioning 
as  to  the  method  of  cleansing  and  steril- 
ising, Mrs.  Crane  put  her  nose  into  pail  after 
pail. 

'*  It's  the  only  way  to  tell  positively,"  ob- 
served one  matron,  breaking  her  bond  of  si- 
lence. 

'*  Don't  be  too  hard  on  us  Friday  night, 
madam,"  called  the  dairyman  after  he  had  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  mass 
meeting  of  citizens,  when  the  results  of  the 
survey  were  to  be  given.  But  his  radiant  smile 
indicated  that  he  thought  he  had  little  to  fear. 
Several  other  dairies  were  visited  and  the  visit- 
ing delegation  on  the  whole  was  well  pleased. 
The  barns  were  clean,  the  yards  well  drained, 


28        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

the  cattle  tuberculin  tested,  the  milk  houses  and 
separators  screened  and  w6ll  kept.  One  am- 
bitious dairyman  had  screened  in  his  entire 
stable  and  had  succeeded  in  keeping  the  flies  in 
wonderfully  well.  He  listened  respectfully 
while  Mrs.  Crane  gently  suggested  that  the 
doors  be  hung  with  ravelled  rope  of  strips  of 
gunny  sacking  so  that  the  flies  would  be  brushed 
off  as  the  cattle  entered.  The  delegation  left 
the  dairies  with  a  sense  of  well-being,  and  Mrs. 
Crane  announced, 

*'  Now  I  want  to  see  the  almshouse." 

*'  But  the  almshouse  does  not  belong  to  the 
city,"  protested  the  women. 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Crane  firmly,  "it  is  on 
city  ground  and  most  of  the  inmates  come  from 
the  city.    I  want  to  see  it." 

The  county  almshouse  at  Montgomery  has  a 
charming  location.  The  autos  drew  up  on  a 
shady  lawn  across  which  under  great  trees  the 
shadows  of  late  afternoon  were  falling.  A  pic- 
turesque though  dilapidated  red  brick  building 
stood  at  one  end  and  at  the  side  ran  a  number 
of  little  two-room  wooden  cottages,  on  whose 
porches  sat  men  and  women.  A  man  sauntered 
across  the  grass  to  extend  a  welcome. 

"  Come  right  through,"  he  urged;  *'  right 
through  and  see  everything. ' ' 

**  You  are  the  superintendent?  "  the  visiting 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  29 

sanitarian  asked.  ''  You  work  for  the 
county!  " 

**  No'm,  that  is,  not  exactly.  I  get  'em  " — 
he  indicated  by  a  sweep  of  his  arm  the  figures 
on  the  porches — "  by  contract.  I  get  thirty- 
seven  and  a  half  cents  a  day  from  the  county 
for  everyone  that's  here." 

*'  And  for  that,  what  do  you  do?  " 

*'  Do  " — the  superintendent  seemed  puzzled. 
**  Do,  ma'am?  Why  I  feed  'em,  I  clothe  'em,  I 
bury  'em." 

Silently  the  delegation  filed  into  the  first  little 
cottage.  The  room  on  the  left  was  the  abode  of 
two  old  women,  one  of  whom  was  blind,  and  of 
four  splendid  children,  one  a  girl  of  thirteen. 
The  children,  it  was  explained,  were  there  only 
''  temporarily,"  although  they  had  been  there 
for  months.  The  mother  was  ill  and  in  the  hos- 
pital, the  father  had  disappeared,  and  there  was 
no  place  in  the  city  to  send  them.  The  next 
room  was  the  abode  of  two  men,  then  absent. 
Up  one  rickety  pair  of  steps  and  down  another 
filed  the  delegation,  finding  desperate  illness, 
crudely  waited  on,  idleness  and  tlie  plaintive 
wish  for  ''  patches  to  make  quilts  of,"  just 
some  more  of  the  "  forgotten  people  "  whose 
cause  Mrs.  Crane  has  pleaded  up  and  down  the 
land  for  years,  down  to  the  negro  division, 
which  was  separated  by  a  board  fence  from  the 


30        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

white,  and  into  a  cottage  where  lay  a  helpless, 
bedridden,  blind  mother.  One  baby  just  able 
to  toddle  sat  upon  the  knee  of  an  elderly  woman, 
one  but  an  infant  of  a  few  months  lay  on  the 
bed. 

''  I've  been  here  three  years,"  moaned  the 
sick  woman. 

"  What  is  the  matter?  "  asked  Mrs.  Crane 
of  the  keeper. 

"  Syphilis,"  he  replied  laconically. 

*'  But  these  children — their  father "    The 

superintendent  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Born  here.  You  can't  help  things  like 
that,  ma'am,  you  just  can't  help  it." 

It  was  a  very  noisy  delegation  that  wandered 
back  to  the  machines.  The  women  were  explain- 
ing volubly.  The  county  was  responsible  for 
the  almshouse,  and  what  the  keeper  said  was 
true,  it  ivas  difficult  to  prevent  such  things — 
they  were  always  happening  in  the  negro  quar- 
ter of  the  city.  To  which  Mrs.  Crane  said 
simply : 

"  And  what  is  to  be  the  future  of  those  chil- 
dren, born  as  they  are — under  county  aus- 
pices? " 

The  next  morning  the  delighted  occupants  of 
the  almshouse  found  roses,  and  magazines  and 
patches  at  their  doorways,  and  the  women  met 
with  the  answer  to  that  question  stirring  ac- 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  31 

lively  in  their  minds.  They  would  learn  how  to 
prevent  the  birth  of  such  children — and  the 
almshouse  should  be  remodelled.  There  was  no 
time  for  discussion.  The  tour  had  sprung  into 
prominence  upon  the  front  page  of  the  morn- 
ing paper  and  the  escort  of  interested  men  and 
women  grew  so  large  that  it  had  to  be  curtailed. 
The  permanent  escort,  including  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Health  and  Sanitation  with  one  or 
more  of  his  assistants,  and  the  President  and 
two  members  of  the  City  Federation  of  Wom- 
en's Clubs  rarely  left  the  side  of  their  valued 
visitor.    Thej^  intended  to  learn. 

Mrs.  Crane  had  entered  Montgomery  at  ten 
minutes  past  ten  Tuesday  morning.  She  left 
Montgomery  on  Saturday  at  the  same  hour.  In 
the  intervening  four  days  she  inspected  the 
waterworks,  streets,  alleys,  sewer  system,  the 
incinerator,  the  county  almshouse,  two  public 
schools  for  white  children,  two  public  schools 
for  coloured  children,  one  High  School,  the 
Union  slaughter  house,  five  dairies,  four  fac- 
tories and  one  railroad  shed  (for  the  smoke  nui- 
sance), six  bakeries,  the  city  jail,  the  county 
jail,  the  anti-tuberculosis  camp,  the  hospital  for 
contagious  diseases,  the  city  laboratory  and 
free  dispensary,  six  meat  markets,  four  res- 
taurants, one  cold  storage  plant,  two  moving- 
picture    shows,    one   railway   station   and   one 


32        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

boarding  house,  interviewed  several  city  of- 
ficials, made  a  study  of  the  administration  of 
the  Health  Department,  was  interviewed  by  sev- 
eral reporters  and  made  seven  speeches  before 
various  audiences ! 

The  six  bakeries  visited  were  a  revelation  to 
the  women  of  Montgomery  if  not  to  the  Com- 
missioner of  Health  and  Sanitation. 

The  front  room  of  one  of  these  fairly  glis- 
tened with  cleanliness  and,  beautifully  dec- 
orated, presented  such  an  inviting  appearance 
that  the  delegation  entered  with  a  feeling  that 
here  at  least  things  would  be  well.  But  hardly 
had  the  women  crossed  the  dividing  line  be- 
tween the  shop  and  workrooms  than  they 
stopped  in  horror.  Grime,  cobwebs  and  dirt 
were  everywhere,  refuse  of  all  kinds  filled  the 
corners  and  ledges.  A  trap  door,  partly  open, 
revealed  a  dark,  wet  subcellar.  It  took  the 
united  efforts  of  the  Commissioner  and  an  as- 
sistant to  move  the  heavy  barrels  which  barred 
this  passage,  but  Mrs.  Crane  was  determined 
to  go  down.  When  she  did,  accompanied  by  the 
most  daring  members  of  the  party,  not  even 
her  whispered  warning  could  restrain  the 
women. 

''  Ugh,"  said  one  frankly,  ''  to  think  I  ever 
ate  anything  from  here."  The  toilet  facilities 
for  the  bakers  and  candy  pullers  proved  both 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  33 

unclean  and  unsanitary.  When  as  a  final 
query  the  visiting  sanitarian  asked  a  candy 
maker, 

"  And  where  do  you  wash  your  hands!  "  a 
hesitation  and  an  involuntary  glance  at  a  soiled 
apron  answered  sufficiently,  and  the  delegation 
went  forth.  Even  in  the  cleanest  bakery  of  all 
Mrs.  Crane's  little  pocket  flashlight  revealed 
families  of  roaches  occupying  the  closets  for 
raising  the  dough,  and  a  grimy,  gray,  dirty 
mop  which  ' '  cleaned  ' '  the  oven  floor  for  baking 
rye  bread.  When  the  women  disbanded  for  the 
day,  they  looked  at  each  other  hopelessly. 

"  Where,"  demanded  one,  *'  am  I  to  buy 
bread  until  I  can  get  this  thing  stopped?  "  No 
one  answered. 

The  city  jail,  which  the  women  visited  for 
the  first  time,  proved  a  fire-trap.  Three  young 
white  men,  about  twenty  years  of  age,  peered 
from  the  grated  door  of  a  windowless  cell,  while 
Mrs.  Crane  questioned  them. 

''  Locked  up  on  suspicion,  ma'am,"  said  one, 
smiling. 

"  But  why  haven't  you  chairs'?  "  asked  the 
visitor. 

''  Laws,  ma'am,  if  we  had,  we'd  be  eaten 
alive  if  we  sat  down." 

Mrs.  Crane  sought  the  keeper.  He  denied  the 
charge  indignantly. 


34        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

''  Well,"  she  said  firmly,  "  I  want  to  go  in 
that  cell." 

There  was  a  long  wait  until  the  keys  were 
sorted,  but  at  last  the  cell  door  swung  wide. 
Mrs.  Crane  entered.  She  flashed  her  pocket 
lamp  over  some  of  the  cracks  in  the  wooden 
wall,  and  revealed  vermin  in  serried  ranks,  as 
close  as  they  could  crowd.  Then  she  showed 
the  result  to  the  keeper  and  the  visiting  escort. 

City  prisoners  sentenced  to  short  terms  for 
violating  a  municipal  ordinance  appeared  clad 
in  stripes,  in  which  they  were  sent  out  to  work 
upon  the  roads,  forever  branded  after  one  of- 
fence against  the  city  law,  a  punishment  com- 
mon in  Alabama. 

It  was  a  distinct  relief  to  ride  from  the 
gloomy  place  into  the  anti-tuberculosis  camp 
with  its  miniature  bungalows,  its  spotless 
cleanliness  and  perfect  sanitation.  And  the 
women  drew  a  breath  of  relief  as  they  heard 
their  visitor  state, 

"  This  is  the  most  perfect  thing  of  its  kind 
that  I  have  ever  seen. ' ' 

It  was  in  the  public  schools  that  the  inspect- 
ing party  received  enthusiastic  welcome.  Every 
teacher  knew  of  Mrs.  Crane,  and  some  of  those 
intelligent  young  women  seemed  familiar  with 
the  evils  which  Mrs.  Crane  found,  although  the 
visiting  party  plainly  regarded  them  as  some- 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE     35- 

thing  entirely  new.  Little  boys  and  girls  sat 
up  straight  at  Mrs.  Crane's  request,  betraying 
the  fact  that  many  pairs  of  heels  failed  to  reach 
the  floor,  a  condition  working  a  dire  injury  to 
plastic  little  bodies.  Many  windows  let  in  light 
at  an  angle  that  must  surely  damage  sensitive 
eyes. 

Toilets,  cellars,  furnaces  were  inspected  and 
many  suggestions  offered  for  improvement  in 
ventilation  and  fire  protection. 

"  Talk  to  the  Board  of  Education,'^  begged 
the  teachers;  "  please  do." 

'*  You  have  a  large  class,"  observed  Mrs. 
Crane  to  the  teacher  of  a  First  Grade  in  the 
West  End  School  in  the  factory  district. 

*'  It  will  be  much  smaller  after  to-morrow," 
replied  the  teacher  sadly. 

*'  Why?  "  inquired  Mrs.  Crane. 

''  Well,  you  see  the  compulsory  education 
law  requires  eight  weeks  of  schooling.  To- 
morrow will  end  the  first  eight  weeks  of  the 
school  year.  Then  a  good  many  of  my  chil- 
dren will  go  back  to  the  cotton  mills  to  return 
to  me  again  next  season." 

Mrs.  Crane  turned  to  the  listening  children. 

' '  And  do  you  go  ?  "  she  asked  of  a  boy  near 
her.     He  nodded.     "  And  you — and  you " 

"  And  that  boy  " — it  was  the  teacher's  low 
voice — "  is  the  very  brightest  of  my  flock,  my 


36        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

helper,  my  right  hand.  He  could  go  far  if  he 
had  the  chance,  but  for  three  years  he  has  gone 
to  the  mill."    Mrs.  Crane  turned  to  the  child. 

"  How  much  do  you  make  at  the  mill?  "  she 
asked. 

''  Fifty  cents  a  day,  ma'am." 

Now  this  was  no  sanitarian's  affair — it  be- 
longed to  quite  a  different  department  in  civics, 
that  of  child  labour.  Yet  this  self -designated 
"  sanitarian  "  dropped  to  her  knees  beside  the 
child,  put  her  arms  about  him  and  turned  his 
wondering  face  towards  the  accompanying  dele- 
gation. 

''  Ladies,"  she  pleaded,  '*  here,  here  is  your 
chance  to  begin  this  thing.  Fifty  cents  a  day 
will  lift  the  mortgage  from  this  child's  life. 
His  teacher  says  that  of  all  her  boys  he  is  her 
brightest — her  right-hand  man.  Free  him — 
give  him  his  chance."  The  tears  were  running 
down  her  cheeks  and  down  the  cheeks  of  the 
women,  while  the  Commissioner  went  into  the 
hall  to  clear  his  throat.  Before  they  left  the 
room  the  women  had  pledged  themselves — and 
the  mortgage  had  been  lifted.  Through  the 
years  to  come  this  child — as  but  the  beginning 
of  their  protest  against  child  labour — would  be 
protected.  The  boy  watched  them  go  out — 
puzzled,  unknowing. 

On  Friday  night  a  mass  meeting  of  the  citi- 


CAROLL\E  BARTLETT  CRANE  37 

zens  of  Montgomery  assembled  to  hear  the  re- 
sults of  the  survey.  Among  the  audience  were 
the  dairymen,  the  butchers,  the  bakers,  the  res- 
taurant keepers,  various  city  officials  and  a 
large  representation  of  school  teachers.  With 
unflagging  interest  they  listened  while  Mrs. 
Crane  talked  for  over  two  hours.  Tactfully  she 
put  her  compliments  first,  and  the  gratified  citi- 
zens learned  that  their  water  supply  was  ex- 
cellent, their  sewer  system  and  street  cleaning 
good,  the  refuse  collection  exceptional.  They 
beamed  as  they  were  congratulated  upon  the 
remarkably  good  work  done  by  their  Health 
Officials,  their  thrifty  and  unusual  system  of 
disposing  of  street  sweepings,  on  their  garbage 
incinerator,  on  their  good  dairies,  and  on  the 
unsurpassed  Union  abattoir  with  its  thorough 
system  of  meat  inspection,  even  including  the 
microscopic  examination  of  pork.  They  lis- 
tened courageously  while  the  speaker  revealed 
the  conditions  in  the  bakeries,  some  of  the 
schoolhouses  and  the  city  jail.  Then  Mrs. 
Crane  told  the  story  of  the  county  almshouse. 

"  I  seem  to  see,"  she  said,  ''  those  children, 
born  under  county  auspices,  going  into  your 
schools  for  their  eight  weeks  of  study,  sent  to 
your  county  jail  like  the  little  fellow  of  eleven 
whom  I  saw  there  running  about  the  corridor 
just  outside  the  pens  in  which  you  keep  your 


38        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

desperate  criminals — because  you  have  no  other 
place  for  him  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  stolen 
some  sacks — sent  through  the  city  jail  and  put 
in  stripes  for  the  first  offence,  unwanted,  un- 
loved, discredited,  returning  to  those  pens 
where  now  your  murderers  wait  their  day  of 
doom — w^hat  else  can  I  see  for  them?  " 

There  were  men  in  that  audience  as  well  as 
women  who  wept.  The  sanitarian  had  vanished 
and  Caroline  Bartlett  Crane,  preacher  and 
pastor,  stood  there  telling  her  people  once  more 
the  truth  of  the  Scriptures,  "  as  ye  have  sown 
— so  shall  ye  reap." 

The  next  morning  there  was  a  hurried  con- 
ference, the  delegation  escorted  Mrs.  Crane  to 
the  station,  regretfully  saw  her  depart  and  re- 
turned to  their  homes,  worn  out.  The  survey 
was  over. 

Directly  after  her  departure  there  was  an 
outbreak  of  commendation  and  protest.  Indig- 
nant bakers  rushed  into  print,  while  a  satisfied 
restaurant  keeper  whose  place  had  been  warmly 
praised  rubbed  his  hands  in  glee  and  did  some 
judicious  advertising.  The  daily  papers  de- 
manded interviews  from  city  officials  and  the 
city  officials  upheld  Mrs.  Crane  bravely,  declar- 
ing that  they  were  glad  she  had  come  as  they 
needed  public  support  to  effect  the  changes  de- 
sired.   The  President  of  the  City  Commission 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  39 

authorised  the  committee  of  women  to  continue 
their  inspection  of  food  supplies,  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Health  and  Sanitation  agreed  to  ap- 
point a  food  inspector,  and  active  women  from 
the  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  talked  to  six 
clubs,  urging  them  not  to  buy  bread  from  any 
bakery  in  town  until  the  women's  committee 
pronounced  it  fit  to  patronise.  A  committee  at 
once  took  charge  of  the  little  boy  who  was  not 
to  go  back  to  the  mill.  The  President  of  the 
County  Board  of  Revenue  was  appealed  to  con- 
cerning the  matter  of  the  almshouse,  and  an 
active  campaign  was  begun  to  arouse  public  sen- 
timent toward  the  abolition  of  the  contract  sys- 
tem and  to  call  for  a  county  election  to  provide 
funds  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  a 
model  almshouse  when  the  present  contract  ex- 
pires. The  little  boy  of  eleven  was  found  to 
be  illegally  detained  and  was  removed  to  a  re- 
formatory. 

All  this  happened  within  one  month  of  Mrs. 
Crane's  departure.  It  is  typical  of  the  after- 
math of  her  surveys  in  cities  generally.  In  a 
few  weeks  Montgomery  citizens  read  her 
printed  report  of  her  survey,  which  contained 
many  more  minute  and  technical  suggestions 
than  could  be  given  at  a  two-hour  meeting.  The 
practical  results  of  her  surveys  all  over  Amer- 
ica present  a  sum  total  of  improvement  that  is 


40        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

inspiring.  Sometimes  she  appears  as  a  prophet 
of  warning.  In  1910  Mrs.  Crane  told  Erie, 
Pennsylvania,  that  it  ran  the  danger  of  a  ter- 
rible epidemic  unless  it  purified  its  water  sup- 
ply. In  1911  Erie  sorrowfully  and  publicly  ad- 
mitted the  justice  of  the  warning  in  the  face  of 
one  hundred  and  three  deaths  from  typhoid, 
untold  suffering,  and  a  city  expense  of  twelve 
thousand  dollars.  At  Sea  Breeze,  Florida,  a 
great  hotel  owned  by  the  Mayor  was  ruthlessly 
condemned  by  her  for  lack  of  proper  fire  pro- 
tection and  fire  escapes.  Two  weeks  later  the 
hotel  burned  to  the  ground,  the  people  barely 
escaping  with  their  lives,  some  by  jumping  from 
the  windows.  A  Rochester  school  building,  the 
twin  of  one  condemned  by  Mrs.  Crane,  was  also 
burned  before  that  active  city  could  put  through 
various  improvements  upon  which  it  had  deter- 
mined after  her  visit.  At  Harrodsburg,  Ken- 
tucky, where  an  angry  official  sued  Mrs.  Crane 
but  afterwards  found  his  case  quashed,  the  con- 
tract system  of  caring  for  the  poor  was  aban- 
doned and  a  new  almshouse  built ;  a  tuberculosis 
sanitarium  rose  at  Paducah,  and  at  Valley  City, 
North  Dakota,  a  beautiful  new  infirmary  re- 
places the  old  poorhouse.  At  Albert  Lea,  Min- 
nesota, the  citizens  boast  a  new  municipal  hos- 
pital; at  Big  Eapids,  Michigan,  a  fine  new 
abattoir.    At  Rochester,  Minnesota,  the  father 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  41 

of  a  child  in  one  of  the  public  schools  altered  a 
whole  classroom  to  demonstrate  Mrs.  Crane's 
system  of  scientific  lighting.  While  at  Mankato, 
Minnesota,  the  bakeries,  market  places,  etc., 
went  through  a  thorough  cleaning  and  scouring 
to  get  upon  the  "  white  list  "  suggested  by  Mrs. 
Crane,  and  begged  for  frequent  inspection. 

At  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  her  condemna- 
tion of  the  public  water  supply  caused  the  State 
Board  of  Health  to  make  an  independent  inves- 
tigation which  confirmed  her  findings,  and  fol- 
lowing which  the  dangerous  conditions  on  the 
watershed  were  promptly  eliminated.  The 
almshouse  was  practically  made  over  on  the 
inside  and  fire  escapes  were  erected,  and  a 
trained  nurse  was  put  in  charge  of  the  sick.  A 
dangerous  schoolhouse  was  condemned,  fire  es- 
capes went  up  all  over  the  city,  and  a  bad  base- 
ment bakery  chose  the  alternative  of  building 
new  sanitary  quarters  rather  than  be  forced  out 
of  business  by  disgusted  patrons.  The  woman 
who  had  been  most  active  in  securing  Mrs. 
Crane's  survey  was  placed  on  the  City  Board 
of  Health. 

Of  equal  if  not  of  greater  value  are  the  more 
general  results.  In  probably  twenty  cities  per- 
manent civic  leagues  have  been  inaugurated, 
under  various  names,  to  work  at  various  tasks. 
During  the  year,  after  her  survey  of  Kentucky, 


42        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

that  State  secured  more  advanced  health  legis-. 
lation  than  in  all  its  past  history,  including 
thirty  thousand  dollars  annually  for  a  State 
Bacteriological  Laboratory,  an  annual  school  for 
county  and  city  health  officials,  and  a  law  for- 
bidding the  importation  of  any  but  tuberculin- 
tested  cattle.  In  Minnesota  and  in  Erie,  Penn- 
sylvania, her  Minnesota  report,  a  volume  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  pages,  is  being  used  by  the 
women's  clubs  as  a  handbook  on  sanitation. 
Health  officers  and  faithful,  painstaking  officials 
have  found  their  first  public  recognition 
through  her  keen-eyed  vigilance  and  have  gone 
to  work  with  renewed  courage,  while  careless 
officials  have  been  awakened  to  some  sense  of 
their  grave  responsibility.  And  often  for  the 
first  time  in  its  history  the  whole  city  works 
together  for  the  common  good.  Long  after  she 
has  left  them  *'  her  "  cities,  as  she  calls  them, 
write  to  her  for  advice  and  help. 

Nor  does  she  neglect  her  home  city.  There 
are  school  gardens  and  back  yard  gardens  and 
public  playgrounds  in  Kalamazoo  which  owe 
their  existence  to  her.  There  are  children  prop- 
erly clothed  and  fed  and  going  to  school,  who, 
but  for  her,  would  be  on  the  streets ;  there  are 
other  children  who,  but  for  Mrs.  Crane,  would 
be  side  by  side  with  hardened  criminals  in  jail, 
learning  to  be  good  and  useful  citizens  under 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  43 

the  leadership  of  a  society  girl  who  has  decided 
to  be  of  use  in  the  world.  There  are  aged  and 
infirm  men  and  women  living  and  dying  in  com- 
fort when  but  for  her  they  would  be  as  she 
found  them,  li\dng  in  quarters  indescribable  in 
the  almshouses,  and  dying  without  a  doctor  or 
nurse.  There  are  widows  living  upon  pensions 
which  enable  them  to  care  for  their  children  as 
a  mother  should,  who  bless  the  name  of  Mrs. 
Crane. 

.When  the  Mayor  and  City  Council  recently 
decided  to  pass  a  new  smoke  ordinance,  they 
appealed  for  advice  and  help  to  Mrs.  Crane. 
The  work  in  Kalamazoo  goes  on.  If  there  were 
need  for  further  proof  of  the  success  of  her 
undertaking  it  could  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
all  her  cities — good,  bad,  indifferent — like  her. 
"Where  there  has  been  ground  for  praise  she 
has  commended,  and  where  she  has  found  cor- 
rupt administration,  neglect,  fraud,  open  viola- 
tion of  the  law,  she  has  fearlessly  and  publicly 
told  the  truth  as  she  saw  it,  and  despite  the 
individual  resentment  of  exposed  officials  the 
people  have  believed  and  have  supported  her. 
On  her  desk  daily  appears  a  pile  of  letters,  from 
individuals,  from  officials,  from  societies,  in 
which  one  question  is  repeated  over  and  over, 
'<  When  are  you  coming — again?  " 
In  the  face  of  this  enormous  activity,  it  seems 


44        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

almost  impossible  to  believe  Mrs.  Crane's  state- 
ment that  she  is,  first  of  all,  a  home  woman. 
But  the  statement  is  true.  She  steadily  refuses 
to  leave  her  home  for  more  than  two  months  in 
any  one  year.  Although  a  happy  home  means 
more  than  good  housekeeping,  it  usually  in- 
cludes it,  and  Mrs.  Crane  is  a  good  housekeeper, 
of  the  most  up-to-date  pattern.  She  uses  dust- 
less  dusters  and  vacuum  cleaners  and  fireless 
cookers  and  every  other  labour-saving  invention 
on  the  market.  She  planned  her  own  house  and 
it  has  every  convenience  that  modem  science 
can  devise  and  closets  innumerable.  She  be- 
lieves in  outdoor  sleeping  and  uses  her  outdoor 
sleeping  porch  through  all  the  year  except  the 
three  winter  months.  And  she  has  been  house- 
keeping seventeen  years,  and  in  that  time  has 
had  four  maids  who  were  married  by  her  in 
her  own  study  and  left  her  only  to  start  homes 
of  their  own. 

The  machinery  of  Mrs.  Crane's  household  is 
invisible.  The  two  maids  work  on  an  eight- 
hour  schedule,  at  least  one  on  duty  every  hour 
in  the  day.  Every  duty  is  carefully  planned 
and  the  entire  household  co-operates. 

When  the  curtains  are  drawn  at  night,  Mrs. 
Crane  sits  at  her  piano,  her  husband  in  the  big 
chair  opposite,  following  contentedly  his  fa- 
vourite selections,  then  there  is  apparent  that 


CAROLINE  BARTLETT  CRANE  45 

atmosphere  that  not  even  the  most  perfect 
housekeeping  can  bring,  that  deeply  spiritual 
feeling  that  makes  home,  because  love  abides 
there. 

**  Minister  to  municipalities  "  someone  has 
called  her,  and  of  all  the  titles  invented  to  cover 
her  peculiar  field  of  work,  this  is  the  one  she 
likes  the  best. 

"  I  am  still  a  preacher,"  she  insists.  "  For- 
merly I  preached  from  the  Bible,  to-day  I 
preach  from  life.  What  happens  in  Kalamazoo 
to-day  is  of  as  much  moment  as  that  which  hap- 
pened to  tribes  of  wanderers  thousands  of  years 
ago." 

After  all  it  isn't  a  question  of  title  but  of 
woman.  Caroline  Bartlett  Crane,  sanitarian, 
municipal  expert,  or  minister  to  municipalities, 
or  what  you  will,  stands  for  a  new  type  of  com- 
munity usefulness,  a  new  kind  of  social  service, 
and  for  a  new  concept  of  the  sphere  of  home 
for  woman. 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT 


The  room  was  softly  lighted,  for  the  latticed 
shutters  jealously  excluded  sunbeams  and  per- 
mitted only  a  softened  ray  to  escape  them.  On 
the  threshold  a  large,  pleasant,  capable-looking 
woman  with  a  hearty  handshake  gave  me  greet- 
ing. A  question  trembled  upon  my  lips,  but 
before  it  was  uttered  the  pleasant,  capable- 
looking  woman  smilingly  passed  across  the  room 
and  guided  me  to  an  armchair  near  the  window. 
I  looked  down.  In  the  softly  padded  chair 
depths  reclined  a  tiny  figure,  scarce  larger  than 
a  child's.  A  delicate  little  hand  sought  mine, 
while  my  question  fell  awkwardly  and  hesi- 
tatingly. 

''  Is  this— is  this  Miss  Wright?  " 

**  I  am  Miss  Wright,  dear,"  answered  a  gen- 
tle voice.    *'  Won't  you  sit  down?  " 

A  chair  was  pushed  forward.  I  sat  down,  my 
eyes  focused  upon  the  armchair  near  the  win- 
dow. Sophie  Wright  lay  there ;  Sophie  Wright, 
who  for  twenty  years  had  educated  the  men  and 
boys  of  New  Orleans  in  the  most  wonderful  free 
night  school  the  country  has  ever  known,  sup- 

49 


50        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

porting  her  night  work  with  the  product  of  her 
labour  by  day;  Sophie  Wright,  who  made  pos- 
sible the  New  Orleans  Home  for  Crippled  Chil- 
dren, who  was  the  foremost  woman  in  the 
South,  and  without  whose  aid  no  work  in  service 
was  begun;  Sophie  Wright,  whom  a  city  de- 
lighted to  honour  by  purchasing  through  its  citi- 
zens a  home  for  its  foremost  citizen,  and  whose 
name  stands  for  achievement  rarely  equalled  by 
man  or  woman.  Yet  across  from  me  lay  this 
frail  body,  with  tiny  hands,  the  head  surmounted 
by  hair  as  white  as  snow,  the  great  brown  eyes 
plainly  revealing  suffering. 

''  You  are  ill,"  I  stammered. 

**  I  am  better,"  she  replied  gently.  *'  You 
know  I  have  never  been  without  suffering." 
The  delicate  body  and  the  white  hair  bore  mute 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  statement,  to  days 
of  pain  and  nights  without  rest ;  but  the  wonder- 
fully spiritual  countenance  bore  as  plainly  wit- 
ness to  a  second  truth,  that  of  an  indomitable 
soul,  schooled  to  patience  and  yet  never  ceasing 
to  fight  for  its  ends.  This  woman  who  was 
called  the  first  citizen  of  the  South  went  about 
her  work  in  a  steel  harness  with  the  aid  of 
crutches.  She  was  not  rich.  Until  a  few  years 
ago  she  was  actually  poor,  so  poor  that  for 
every  hour  of  service  to  her  fellows  she  worked 
an  hour  to  pay  for  her  own  living.    Yet  despite 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  51 

this  double  handicap  she  had  at  forty-six  lived  a 
life  so  full  of  accomplishment  that  you  believed 
when  Miss  Sophie  said: 

*'  I  did  not  do  those  things.  Look  at  me. 
How  could  I?    It  was  God,  not  I." 

Let  me  tell  you  her  story.  Her  parents  were 
the  impoverished  children  of  impoverished  par- 
ents, ruined  in  the  depression  that  was  the 
aftermath  of  the  Civil  War.  When  Miss  Sophie 
was  a  baby  of  three  years  she  fell,  injuring  both 
back  and  hip  so  badly  that  she  was  incased  in 
plaster  and  strapped  to  a  chair.  Until  she  was 
ten  this  chair  was  her  world ;  she  could  not  walk 
a  step.  Then  slowly  she  began  to  walk,  and 
soon  she  was  sent  to  the  nearest  school.  The 
way  was  long,  and  the  little  limbs  were  very 
feeble.  Often  she  begged  to  stay  at  home;  but 
her  mother  insisted,  and  day  after  day  she 
dragged  her  tired  body  the  long  way  to  the 
schoolhouse.  And  the  mother-love  which 
prompted  even  suffering  for  the  sake  of  joys 
to  come  was  ere  long  justified.  Miss  Sophie 
learned  quickly.  In  four  years  she  had  mas- 
tered all  that  the  school  could  give,  and  her 
active  mind  ached  for  something  more  to  do. 
Scarcely  had  she  left  her  eighth  grade  studies 
when  she  decided  to  have  a  school  of  her  own, 
partly  for  the  joy  of  it  and  partly  for  the  sake 
of  the  income  to  be  realised.    In  the  front  room 


52        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

of  her  mother's  little  cottage  she  arranged  a 
few  borrowed  desks  and  benches,  and  upon  the 
front  door  she  tacked  her  sign,  "  Day  School 
for  Girls."  Then  with  a  sublime  disregard  for 
the  effect  produced  by  her  youth,  her  physical 
condition,  her  short  frock  and  twin  pigtails,  she 
went  out  to  canvass  for  pupils.  The  energy  and 
persistence  that  have  helped  her  win  many  bat- 
tles since  actually  convinced  a  few  mothers  that 
she  was  able  to  teach  their  daughters  something 
that  was  worth  fifty  cents  a  month,  and  so  the 
famous  Sophie  Wright  School  for  Girls  began. 
Miss  Sophie  was  very  careful  about  her  first 
pupils.  No  one  who  approached  eighth  grade 
standards  was  admitted,  for  very  good  reasons; 
but  in  two  years  she  found  that  her  pupils  were 
growing  up  and  would  soon  find  her  instruction 
inadequate  and  leave  her.  This  was  not  to  be 
thought  of.  There  were  twenty  pupils  now,  and 
her  salary  was  ten  dollars  a  month,  a  sum  not 
to  be  lightly  considered.  Something  must  be 
done.  There  was  a  normal  school  in  the  city 
which  could  give  her  instruction  if  she  could 
but  find  a  way  to  pay  for  it.  So  she  took  her 
crutch  and  called  upon  the  principal.  Somehow 
she  convinced  him  that  she  was  a  very  able 
teacher  of  mathematics,  and  that  she  would  be 
willing  to  come  to  him  for  the  low  rate  of  in- 
struction in  other  branches.    For  two  years  she 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  53 

studied  and  taught  in  the  normal  school  in  the 
afternoon  and  taught  her  own  growing  school  in 
the  forenoon.  Then  her  own  school  outgrew 
her  mother's  cottage  and  she  went  in  search  of 
a  larger  house.  She  found  one  that  she  thought 
might  do.  The  agent  asked  one  himdred  dollars 
a  month  for  it.  With  a  courage  worthy  of  a 
financier  she  signed  the  lease — and  then  went 
out  to  find  one  hundred  dollars.  A  professional 
money  lender  finally  agreed  to  advance  the  sum. 
It  took  Miss  Sophie  one  year  to  repay  that  first 
hundred  at  twelve  per  cent,  interest  a  month, 
two  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  in  all ;  but  she 
did  it,  borrowed  no  more,  and  the  school  still 
grew.  It  was  just  as  she  began  to  feel  pros- 
perous that  her  opportunity  for  sersdce  came. 

One  day  after  school  hours  the  door  bell 
rang.  Miss  Sophie  answered.  At  the  door 
stood  a  sturdy  young  fellow  awkwardly  twisting 
his  hat  in  his  hands.  Miss  Sophie  asked  him 
what  he  wanted.  To  her  surprise  he  replied, 
**  An  education." 

**  But  my  school  is  for  girls,"  she  replied, 
pointing  to  the  sign. 

**  Yes,"  he  said,  '*  I  know,  but " 

In  a  moment  he  was  within,  telling  his  story. 
He  had  run  away  from  home  to  be  an  acrobat 
in  a  circus.  The  circus  was  stranded;  he  was 
without  money  and  without  work.    But  there 


54        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

was  a  chance  for  him.  In  a  short  time  a  civil 
service  examination  was  to  be  held  and  a  num- 
ber of  positions  would  be  open  to  the  successful 
applicants.  If  he  could  learn  a  little,  he  could 
pass  and  hope  for  a  place.  He  did  not  know 
where  to  go  and  he  had  seen  her  sign.  She 
could  teach.  Would  she  teach  him?  Would 
she?  Sophie  Wright  has  never  said  no  to  that 
appeal.  She  studied  a  moment  and  then  it  was 
all  arranged.  As  she  had  to  teach  in  the  morn- 
ing and  to  study  and  teach  in  the  afternoon,  of 
course  he  must  come  in  the  evening.  That  was 
very  easily  managed.  She  looked  at  the  young 
man  with  sparkling  eyes.  She,  little,  weak  and 
suffering,  was  actually  stronger  than  this  robust 
fellow.  He  had  come  to  her  for  help!  And 
when  he  faltered,  "  I  cannot  pay,"  she  re- 
plied joyously, ' '  It  does  not  matter.  You  need 
help  and  I  can  give  it.    Come." 

He  came.  Before  long  a  second  young  man 
joined  him.  Miss  Sophie  did  not  object.  How 
could  she?  He  needed  instruction,  too.  Before 
she  realised  it  there  had  come  to  her  another, 
and  another,  until  her  day  school  benches  were 
full  to  overflowing.  New  Orleans  had  no  night 
schools.  New  Orleans  boys  left  the  day  schools 
to  go  into  mills  and  factories.  Necessity  drove 
them  there.  New  Orleans  received  every  year 
thousands  of  immigrants.    There  was  no  place 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  55 

for  them  to  learn  English,  no  place  to  work  for 
the  future,  except  Miss  Sophie's.  And  to  her 
door  there  came  nightly  more  and  more  of  them. 
They  came  and  they  stayed — some  because  they 
were  in  earnest  and  wanted  to  learn ;  some  be- 
cause they  had  to,  for  Miss  Sophie  made  them. 
For  with  all  her  gentleness  Miss  Sophie  had 
no  time  for  triflers.  If  a  boy  knocked  at  her 
door  and  asked  to  learn,  he  came  and  he  learned. 
If  he  grew  weary  and  ran  out  of  her  school- 
room, she  followed  him  promptly. 

^'  Come  back,"  she  commanded.  ''  You  asked 
to  come,  and  someone  may  have  been  refused 
who  could  have  had  your  place.  The  room  is 
full.  You  must  keep  your  place  and  learn. 
Come  back." 

And  strange  to  say  the  boy  would  come  back 
and  stay.  In  this  free  school  where  attendance 
was  purely  voluntary,  discipline  was  main- 
tained even  if  a  boy  had  to  be  thrashed,  and  he 
took  the  thrashing  and  stayed  and  behaved  him- 
self!  It  sounds  incredible.  It  is  a  fact.  She 
managed  her  boys  as  a  general  manages  an 
army. 

*'  Why  should  I  let  a  boy  go?  "  she  asked. 
"It  is  better  to  thrash  him  and  make  him  a 
man." 

But,"  I  asked,  "  how  could  you  do  it?  " 

'*  "Well,  of  course  I  couldn't  have  done  it  if 


<< 


56        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

they  had  not  let  me,"  Miss  Sophie  confessed, 
*'  for  they  were  much  stronger  than  I  and  I 
was  lame  besides.  But  I  had  to  have  discipline, 
and  they  respected  my  thrashings.  One  of  my 
friends  said  that  I  ought  to  pray  when  things 
went  wrong.  Well,  I  did  pray  often  after  they 
had  all  gone  and  the  school  was  closed.  But  I 
could  not  pray  in  that  schoolroom.  Why,  some 
of  the  boys  just  came  in  for  a  good  time  and 
to  try  to  break  up  the  school,  and  they  would 
have  tried  to  pour  ink  down  my  back  as  I 
knelt!  " 

One  young  ruffian  who  entered  the  school  with 
the  avowed  intention  of  studying,  began  by  in- 
sisting that  a  smaller  boy  smoke  a  cigarette. 
His  victim,  afraid,  obeyed.  Miss  Sophie 
watched.  The  bully  stood  over  six  feet.  He 
had  just  won  a  local  prize-fight  and  he  believed 
that  he  had  the  school  at  his  mercy.  Miss 
Sophie  breathed  a  little  prayer  for  help.  Her 
sixty  boys  were  watching  her.  The  little  fellow 
could  be  punished  easily,  but  he  was  not  the 
real  culprit,  as  both  she  and  the  boys  knew. 
Trembling  inwardly  she  summoned  the  prize- 
fighter to  the  platform.  He  arose,  put  his  hands 
in  his  pockets  and  laughed. 

*'  I  ain't  afraid  of  you,"  he  shouted  and 
started  toward  her.  As  he  came  she  pushed  a 
chair  toward  him.    He  fell  over  it,  and  as  his 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  57 

hands  were  in  his  pockets  and  his  position  most 
convenient,  Miss  Sophie  administered  the 
thrashing  he  deserved  while  the  class  waited 
breathless.  When  she  had  finished  and  let  him 
np  he  looked  at  her  savagely. 

''I'd  like  to  kill  you!  "  he  said  thickly. 

Then  Miss  Sophie  surprised  him.  "  I  don't 
blame  you,"  she  said  without  anger.  "  Come." 
She  led  the  way  to  her  office.  After  a  long  talk 
he  agreed  to  forgive  her  and  to  let  the  school 
alone.  But  he  started  to  go  away,  saying, ' '  But 
I  never  will  come  back. ' ' 

Miss  Sophie  hastened  after  him.  "  Come 
alone,"  she  cried.  "  I'll  find  a  time.  I  want 
to  teach  you."  He  came.  After  some  months 
had  passed  he  re-entered  his  old  class.  Miss 
Sophie  later  held  him  as  one  of  her  warm 
friends  and  admirers,  and  the  State  to-day  re- 
gards him  as  a  most  promising  citizen. 

These  troublesome  boys  were  the  exceptions. 
The  majority  were  pitifully  eager  to  learn,  and 
Miss  Sophie  put  more  vim  into  her  teaching 
than  into  her  spanking.  She  liked  it  better. 
The  day  school  became  the  small  end  of  her 
business,  a  means  of  making  money  wherewith 
to  run  the  night  school.  The  time  came  when 
the  hundred  dollar  a  month  house  no  longer 
sufficed.  The  overflow  of  boys  and  men  filled 
the  halls  and  stairways.     Miss  Sophie's  per- 


58        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

suasive  powers  and  genuine  enthusiasm  for  the 
work  spread  to  the  teachers  in  her  day  school, 
and  without  hope  of  compensation  they  offered 
to  join  in  her  labour.  The  growth  of  the  night 
school  forced  her  to  seek  larger  quarters.  At 
last  she  found  a  house  opposite  a  park  and  con- 
sequently pleasantly  located  for  her  girls,  but 
near  enough  to  mills  and  factories  to  be  within 
easy  reach  of  many  of  her  boys.  The  house 
was  for  sale  and  its  price  was  ten  thousand 
dollars.  Again  Miss  Sophie  found  a  money 
lender  to  advance  the  sum,  and  saddled  with 
this  new  responsibility  she  opened  her  larger 
school.  The  prices  for  her  day  school  had  been 
steadily  rising,  and  the  aristocratic  mothers  of 
some  of  her  pupils  objected  strenuously  to  the 
night  school.  The  seats  occupied  by  their 
daughters  by  day  were  at  night  given  over  to 
common  workmen;  it  was  unusual  and  undesira- 
ble. But  Miss  Sophie  refused  to  consider  com- 
plaints, and  here  her  remarkable  qualities  as  a 
teacher  and  organiser  held  her  in  good  stead. 
Fastidious  mothers  might  object,  but  where 
could  they  find  a  teacher  to  equal  Miss  Sopliie 
or  a  school  managed  as  hers?  In  time  they  grew 
passive  if  not  reconciled,  and  despite  the  objec- 
tions the  day  school  grew  and  flourished. 

Every  penny  that  could  be  spared  from  her 
modest  living  and  from  the  help  whicli  her  fam- 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  59 

ily  needed,  Miss  Sophie  spent  on  her  boys.  It 
was  fourteen  years  after  her  first  pupil  had 
knocked  at  her  door  before  she  owned  half  a 
share  in  her  school  building.  Then  in  1897  came 
the  epidemic  of  yellow  fever.  The  school  closed. 
Miss  Sophie  thought  for  a  moment  of  the  in- 
terest which  must  be  paid,  of  taxes  and  repairs 
and  the  necessary  living  expenses.  Then  she 
looked  at  the  empty  building  and  forgot  all 
about  money.  For  here  was  just  the  place  for 
a  bureau  of  supplies  for  the  stricken  families. 
At  once  she  went  out  into  the  blinding  sunshine, 
to  the  parents  of  her  girls,  to  her  friends,  to 
strangers,  collecting  what  she  could.  And  as 
soon  as  her  house  was  filled,  out  she  went  again 
to  give  to  the  quarantined,  to  those  afraid  to 
venture  forth,  to  those  who  hungered,  for  mills, 
stores  and  factories  were  closed  and  Famine 
stalked  the  streets  of  the  poor.  With  her 
worked  her  teachers,  spurred  on  by  the  brave 
little  woman  beside  them,  risking  contagion, 
bearing  fatigue,  enduring  without  complaint 
the  heat  of  that  awful  summer. 

When  frost  came  and  the  weary  women  were 
able  to  rest,  when  the  city  came  out  from  se- 
clusion and  life  again  looked  normal,  then  Miss 
Sophie  faced  her  darkest  hour.  For  through 
all  these  months  the  interest  had  steadily  ac- 
cumulated.   The  money  lender  believed  that  he 


60        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

would  have  to  foreclose  and  there  seemed  no 
help.  Then  a  banker  of  the  dty  came  forward. 
He  had  watched  Miss  Sophie  and  he  believed 
in  her  work  and  in  her  honesty.  He  took  the 
loan  over,  reduced  the  interest  and  then  volun- 
teered to  increase  the  amount  so  that  the  school 
could  be  properly  refitted.  And  before  the  joy 
of  this  announcement  had  passed,  two  business 
men  of  the  city  offered  to  give  between  them 
two  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  night  school 
work.  Then  there  began  a  real  school.  For 
nearly  fifteen  years  Miss  Sophie  had  supported 
her  night  school  single-handed.  There  were 
soap  boxes  for  seats  and  crude  benches  for  desks 
and  dog-eared  books  that  had  been  carefully 
handled  and  repaired  until  they  were  scarcely 
legible.  All  these  were  discarded  and  diction- 
aries, new  books,  maps,  desks  and  all  the  ap- 
purtenances of  up-to-date  teaching  were  pur- 
chased by  Miss  Sophie,  hurrying  from  shop  to 
shop  with  a  joy  that  cannot  be  put  into  words. 
At  last  her  school  was  as  she  had  dreamed  it. 
When  she  threw  open  her  renovated,  fully 
equipped  building,  three  hundred  men  and  boys 
were  waiting  to  enter.  Before  the  year  was 
over  there  were  one  thousand.  Then  the  num- 
ber grew  to  twelve  hundred,  to  fifteen  hundred, 
and  the  school  was  filled  to  overflowing. 

Girls  began  to  knock  at  her  doors  asking  ad- 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  61 

mission.  The  first  year  that  she  opened  classes 
for  them  two  hundred  attended.  The  night 
school  was  becoming  famous.  In  1903  three 
hundred  pupils  had  to  be  refused  admission  for 
lack  of  room,  and  this  despite  the  fact  that  the 
soap  box  era  had  returned  and  porches,  halls 
and  stairs  were  filled  with  the  overflow.  And 
over  all  this  mass — Austrian,  German,  Italian, 
French,  Spanish,  American — Miss  Sophie  com- 
manded. 

The  increasing  numbers  made  expenses 
heavier,  but  money  was  forthcoming.  Employ- 
ers in  mills,  stores  and  factories  found  that  em- 
ployees who  attended  Miss  Sophie's  school  gave 
more  intelligent  service.  From  some  of  these 
came  contributions ;  from  some  came  personal 
visits  and  a  real  interest  in  the  work. 

People  in  New  Orleans  fell  into  the  habit  of 
coming  to  Miss  Sophie  for  help  in  any  philan- 
thropic undertaking.  One  day  someone  brought 
to  her  a  little  orphan  boy  crippled  almost  ex- 
actly as  Miss  Sophie  had  been.  He  was  alone, 
friendless  and  in  want,  and  there  was  in  all  the 
State  no  institution  to  receive  him.  What  could 
be  done!  Miss  Sophie  made  that  place.  She 
went  to  the  Home  for  Incurables  and  asked  per- 
mission to  erect  as  an  annex  a  Home  for  Crip- 
pled Children.  She  found  that  a  cottage  prop- 
erly equipped  would  cost  ten  thousand  dollars. 


62        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Without  a  thought  that  that  was  the  very  sum 
which  she  owed  upon  her  improved  school  build- 
ing, she  went  to  work.  She  enlisted  the  aid  of 
The  King's  Daughters,  of  private  individuals, 
of  every  organisation  in  the  city  which  she  could 
persuade  to  help,  and  in  just  one  year  she  had 
the  money,  ten  thousand  dollars;  the  cottage 
was  being  built,  and  the  little  boy  who  was  a 
cripple  and  all  those  who  were  like  him  had  a 
home. 

The  struggle  for  that  ten  thousand  dollars 
awoke  the  people  of  New  Orleans  to  the  worth 
of  the  woman  in  their  midst  as  all  her  years  of 
service  had  not  done.  The  New  Orleans  Pica- 
yune, a  daily  paper,  had  made  a  practice  of  pre- 
senting annually  or  biennially,  as  the  occasion 
offered,  a  loving  cup  to  the  person  who  through 
the  intervening  time  had  given  to  the  com- 
munity the  best  service.  Miss  Sophie's  quiet, 
steady  work  at  the  night  school  had  grown  so 
gradually  into  the  life  of  the  city  and  had  for 
so  many  years  been  taken  for  granted  that  it 
had  not  received  much  public  notice.  But  the 
raising  of  the  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  Home 
for  Crippled  Children  focused  public  attention. 
The  New  Orleans  Picayune  decided  to  give  the 
cup  to  Miss  Sophie.  Miss  Sophie's  ''  boys," 
some  twenty  thousand  of  them  in  all  ranks  of 
life — lawyers,   merchants,    successful   business 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  63 

men,  street  car  conductors,  ash  collectors,  truck 
drivers — joined  in  making  plans  for  a  celebra- 
tion of  a  magnitude  never  before  known.  The 
girls  who  had  been  graduated  from  the  day 
school,  and  the  girls  from  the  night  school  and 
their  parents  and  friends  lent  their  aid.  The 
whole  city  of  New  Orleans  laboured  in  behalf  of 
the  woman  who  had  for  so  many  years  laboured 
for  it.  New  Orleans  was  awake  at  last.  Some- 
one had  remembered  the  mortgage  on  the  school, 
and  the  people  of  the  city  had  cried  with  one 
voice : 

''Lift  it!  " 

Without  a  word  in  print,  lest  the  news  should 
travel  to  Miss  Sophie,  the  women  of  the  city 
went  out  to  collect  the  money.  It  had  taken 
Miss  Sophie  one  year  to  collect  ten  thousand 
dollars.  It  took  the  people  of  New  Orleans  ex- 
actly three  days  to  find  the  exact  sum  for  Miss 
Sophie.  Then  the  great  day  came.  From  noon 
until  late  at  night,  Miss  Sophie  sat  upon  the 
platform  they  had  erected  for  her,  and  like  a 
queen  received  the  homage  of  those  who  passed 
before  her.  The  cup  was  presented,  a  beautiful 
thing,  made  of  silver  and  properly  inscribed. 
Then  from  out  of  the  crowd  a  boy  lifted  to  her 
a  second  cup,  a  thing  of  still  greater  beauty, 
a  cup  of  flowers  from  her  boys  to  her.  The 
silver   cup   had  been  presented  with   a   neat 


64        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

speech;  but  the  boy  who  lifted  his  offering  had 
no  words,  and  she  who  received  it  was  alike 
voiceless.  Bending  down  she  drew  him  into 
her  arms  and  kissed  him.  Then  when  all  the 
people  could  see,  someone  handed  Miss  Sophie 
a  note.  She  looked  at  it,  slipped  it  in  her  dress 
and  turned  again  to  the  people.  She  found 
them  smiling,  radiant.  They  knew  the  contents 
of  that  bit  of  white  paper,  although  Miss  Sophie 
never  guessed.  Not  until  she  had  returned 
home  did  she  think  of  the  note.  She  opened  it 
then  and  sat  dazed.  It  was  the  check  for  ten 
thousand  dollars,  the  check  that  spelled  release 
from  debt  and  poverty  at  the  hands  of  a  loving 
people. 

The  city  of  New  Orleans  having  once  awak- 
ened to  the  worth  of  its  best  citizen  has  never 
slumbered  again.  The  Board  of  Education, 
stimulated  by  Miss  Sophie's  efforts,  instituted 
free  night  schools.  These  grew  until  three 
years  ago  Miss  Sophie  felt  justified  in  closing 
her  school  with  its  fifteen  hundred  pupils,  since 
her  boys  could  find  instruction  elsewhere.  It 
was  twenty-five  years  since  she  had  opened  her 
door  to  the  stranded  circus  performer. 

The  closing  of  the  night  school  did  not  mean 
idleness.  Despite  two  long  and  acute  illnesses 
the  work  of  the  first  citizen  of  New  Orleans 
went  on.   Miss  Sophie's  next  step  was  in  behalf 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  65 

of  her  girls.  For  a  long  time  her  office  had  been 
the  refuge  of  boys  and  girls  who  had  somehow 
gotten  on  the  wrong  track. 

"  Girls  go  wrong  because  they  are  so  very 
tired,"  she  said,  "  that  it  is  too  much  trouble 
to  do  right."  So  her  first  effort  was  to  estab- 
lish a  home  where  working  girls  might  spend 
a  carefree  vacation.  She  induced  a  friend  to 
lend  her  a  cottage  and  "  Rest-a-AVhile,"  a  vaca- 
tion home  for  girls,  was  opened.  She  went  to 
the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  and 
opened  classes  for  the  girls  who  wished  to  go 
on.  She  continued  her  day  school,  grown  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  secretly  receiving 
many  a  free  pupil.  She  insisted  that  her 
girls  wear  uniforms,  so  that  no  one  would 
know  the  rich  girl  from  her  less  wealthy  neigh- 
bour. 

And  in  between  times,  for  there  were  still 
in  between  times  in  this  life  of  activity.  Miss 
Sophie  talked  to  mothers'  clubs  and  lectured 
in  the  public  schools,  always  providing  that  all 
talks  were  free.  The  inmates  in  the  city  alms- 
house and  in  the  Home  for  Incurables  looked 
forward  eagerly  to  her  weekly  coming,  for  she 
told  them  the  most  wonderful  stories  which,  she 
said  quaintly,  ''  add  brightness  to  their  lives." 
Her  ' '  boys  ' '  and  their  families  visited  and  con- 
sulted her  about  many  things — their  sickly  chil- 


66        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

dren,  their  financial  difficulties.  Sometimes  a 
street  sweeper  who  had  been  in  her  night  school 
would  stop  her  in  the  street  to  chat,  and  Miss 
Sophie  would  always  stop  gladly. 

She  found  time  to  fill  the  offices  of  Honorary 
Vice  President  of  the  National  Congress  of 
Mothers,  of  a  membership  on  the  Executive 
Board  of  the  National  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs,  of  the  Louisiana  Presidency  of  The 
King's  Daughters,  offices  gladly  given  to  her  in 
recognition  of  her  lifetime  of  service.  She 
found  time  to  write  two  little  books,  intimate 
heart-to-heart  talks  with  parents  and  teachers. 
She  superintended  her  Home  Institute  person- 
ally, and  taught  there  daily.  Her  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pupils  came  lovingly  to  her  to  consult 
her  about  affairs  of  great  import  in  their  lives, 
to  ask  her  to  join  them  on  excursions  and 
frolics.  An  unusual  honour  was  the  naming  of 
a  new  high  school  for  her  just  before  her  death. 
The  city  of  New^  Orleans  had  always  named  its 
high  schools  for  men  and  women  who  had  com- 
pleted their  lifetime.  Wlien  the  Mayor  and  the 
Council  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans  asked  Miss 
Sophie  if  the  school  might  be  named  for  her, 
she  assented  without  a  thought  of  the  previous 
restriction.  The  announcement  was  formally 
made  and  the  people  of  New  Orleans  rejoiced, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  conservatives  who 


SOPHIE  WRIGHT  67 

trembled  at  the  risk  of  naming  a  school  for  a 
living  person. 

The  citizens  of  New  Orleans  decided  that  the 
objection  was  absurd,  and  that  as  for  twenty- 
five  years  Miss  Sophie  had  been  taking  them  on 
trust,  asking  nothing  of  them  but  an  oppor- 
tunity to  serve,  they  could  well  afford  to  take 
her  future  on  trust  as  well.  So  the  new  high 
school  bears  the  title  "  Sophie  Wright  High 
School  for  Girls." 

Bereft  of  Miss  Sophie,  the  city  of  New  Or- 
leans is  having  a  difficult  time  to  follow  her 
wonderful  example.  Often  a  boy  came  to  her 
and  asked,  "  Miss  Sophie,  can't  you  open  your 
school  again!  "  And  shortly  before  her  last 
illness  an  Italian,  who  had  once  been  in  her 
classes,  determinedly  rang  her  door  bell. 

"  I  come  to  your  school,"  he  announced. 

''  But  I  haven't  any  school  for  men  now," 
she  said  gently.  ' '  You  know  the  city  has  many 
schools  which  take  the  place  of  mine. ' ' 

*'  Yes,"  he  assented,  "  I  know.  I  been  there. 
But  oh,  Miss  Sophie,  they  no  care  for  ma  heart 
like  you  do!  " 


JANE  ADDAMS 


JANE  ADDAMS 


It  was  the  great  meeting  of  the  National  Suf- 
frage Convention  in  Philadelphia.  Four  thou- 
sand people,  mainly  women,  filled  the  opera 
house  to  its  capacity,  while  hundreds  of  others 
desiring  to  enter  blocked  the  streets  about  and 
listened  to  overflow  speakers.  There  had  been 
brilliant  speeches  by  well-known  orators,  both 
men  and  women;  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Pro- 
fessor DuBois,  Julia  Lathrop,  had  been  enthusi- 
astically received.  Late  in  the  session,  when  the 
audience  was  settling  down  to  ennui,  President 
Shaw  arose.  Without  preface  she  announced 
the  next  speaker.  Miss  Jane  Addams. 

In  an  instant  there  arose  from  the  crowded 
house  a  murmur  which  swelled  to  a  cheer ;  hand- 
kerchiefs floated  high  in  air,  hands  were  clapped 
furiously  and  fast  until  the  echoes  sounded  in 
the  crowded  streets,  and  for  full  five  minutes 
there  was  an  ovation  the  like  of  which  is  seldom 
seen  save  in  well-organised  political  meetings. 
Miss  Addams  raised  her  hand.  At  once  there 
was  quiet.    She  began  to  speak  in  slow,  meas- 

71 


72        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

ured  tones,  without  any  effort  at  oratory,  but 
with  a  gravity  that  indicated  a  profound  faith 
in  her  words.  That  faith  was  reflected  in  the 
countenances  of  her  hearers.  In  absolute  still- 
ness the  vast  audience  heard  her  through. 
Then  as  she  sat  down,  once  more  the  cheer 
arose,  the  handkerchiefs  fluttered  and  the  furi- 
ous clapping  of  hands  resounded.  A  newspaper 
reporter  at  my  elbow,  a  veteran  who  has  sat 
through  hundreds  of  such  meetings,  looked  curi- 
ously at  the  excited  throng. 

"  The  most  popular  woman  in  America,"  she 
said  decisively.  The  reporter  knew.  At  the 
present  time  Jane  Addams  of  all  women  stands 
first  in  public  approval.  The  women  in  the 
audience  in  Philadelphia  represented  every 
State  in  the  Union.  However  divided  they  were 
on  other  matters,  on  one  they  agreed.  Miss 
Addams,  more  than  any  other  of  their  distin- 
guished company,  had  their  loyal  support. 
Scarcely  less  enthusiastic  were  the  audiences 
of  men  and  women  throughout  the  country  who 
listened  to  Jane  Addams 's  speeches  as  a  dele- 
gate from  the  newly  formed  Progressive  Party. 
Those  who  approved  of  women's  entrance  into 
politics  and  those  who  did  not,  came  to  hear 
Miss  Addams.  Abroad  Miss  Addams  is  recog- 
nised as  the  most  conspicuous  American  woman 
engaged  in  public  work.     A  Frenchman  who 


JANE  ADDAMS  73 

met  Miss  Addams  during  the  Paris  Exposition, 
asked  her  where  she  lived. 

"  In  Chicago,"  she  answered. 

*'  But  where?  "  he  persisted;  **  I  know  Chi- 
cago a  little." 

*'  Oh,  down  by  the  river,"  she  replied. 

"  And  do  you  like  it  there?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed;  I  live  in  a  Settlement."  The 
Frenchman  failed  to  understand.  Miss  Addams 
mentioned  Toynbee  Hall  in  London.  The  man 
had  not  heard  of  it.  Patiently  she  began  to  ex- 
plain the  work  at  Hull  House.  At  the  first  men- 
tion of  the  name  the  Frenchman  brightened. 

' '  Hull  House !  "  he  exclaimed.  ' '  You  are 
Miss  Jane  Addams  of  Hull  House.  I  know 
much  about  that  place." 

Having  mentioned  Hull  House,  Jane  Addams 
is  explained.  Hull  House  is  Jane  Addams  *s 
contribution  to  history,  her  expression  of  her- 
self, her  work,  her  art  and  her  gift  to  humanity. 
In  her  autobiography  she  tells  how  the  idea  of 
Hull  House  first  came  into  being.  Before  she 
was  seven  years  old  she  was  taken  by  her  father 
to  a  neighbouring  town.  John  Addams  was  a 
miller  and  this  journey,  undertaken  for  business 
purposes,  led  them  to  a  mill  in  the  poorest  quar- 
ter of  the  little  city.  Little  Jane  looked  curi- 
ously at  the  squalid  houses,  crowded  close  to 
each  other. 


74        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

'*  Why,"  she  inquired,  ''  do  people  live  in 
such  horrid  little  houses,  so  close  together!  " 
She  listened  thoughtfully  to  the  reply  and  then 
announced  with  much  firmness : 

"  When  I  grow  up  I  shall,  of  course,  have  a 
large  house,  but  it  shall  be  built  not  among 
other  large  houses  but  right  in  the  midst  of 
horrid  little  houses  like  these." 

Through  the  years  that  idea  of  the  ''  large 
house  among  the  horrid  little  houses  "  per- 
sisted. It  coloured  and  directed  the  final  period 
of  her  education,  and  in  1888  it  crystallised  into 
a  definite  determination  to  open  a  settlement. 
In  preparation  Miss  Addams  and  an  old  school 
friend,  Miss  Eliza  Starr,  who  was  travelling 
with  her  when  the  decision  was  made,  visited 
Toynbee  Hall  and  the  People's  Palace.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1889,  she  and  Miss  Starr  were  in  Chicago 
hunting  for  a  house  in  which  to  begin.  They 
found  to  their  joy  just  what  they  sought,  a 
large  house  in  the  midst  of  horrid  little  houses, 
an  old  homestead  built  by  a  Mr.  Charles  J.  Hull, 
with  little  thought  that  it  was  to  make  the  name 
of  Hull  go  down  in  history. 

Hull  House  opened  in  1889,  when  Miss 
Addams  was  nearly  thirty  years  old.  The  year 
preceding  its  inauguration  she  spent  in  an  unset- 
tled mental  state,  since  she  had  determined  to 
open  a  house  "  in  a  part  of  the  city  where  many 


JANE  ADDAMS  75 

primitive  and  actual  needs  were  found  "  and 
she  was  weary  of  "  preparing  for  life,"  a  proc- 
ess which  had  taken  so  long  that  it  seemed  that 
she  would  never  actually  reach  life  itself. 
The  years  of  preparation,  however,  were  none 
too  long.  Only  a  degree  of  maturity  could  hope 
to  cope  with  the  problems  met  at  Hull  House. 

Her  object  was  twofold.  Not  only  was  her 
**  large  house  in  the  midst  of  the  horrid  little 
houses  ' '  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  dwell- 
ers about,  but  it  was  to  reach  into  the  midst 
of  the  groups  of  large  houses  and  draw  from 
them  the  young  women  who  had  much  of  the 
preparation  for  life  of  which  she  had  wearied, 
and  Httle  chance  at  doing  anything  to  justify 
it.  Hull  House  was  designed  not  only  as  a  re- 
lief station  for  the  poor  but  as  a  field  for  work 
for  girls  of  good  families  who  needed  an  outlet 
for  activity.  This  original  idea  of  Hull  House 
is  characteristic  of  Miss  Addams's  life  and  be- 
liefs. Always  she  stands  between  and  pulls 
from  both  sides.  Always  she  refuses  to  believe 
that  perfect  understanding  and  harmony  and 
the  solution  of  human  ills  can  come  in  any 
other  way  than  step  by  step  from  people  work- 
ing together.  In  the  early  days  she  believed 
that  all  the  world  was  willing  if  it  could  but 
find  a  way,  and  to  that  belief,  somewhat  modi- 
fied by  experience,  she  has  tenaciously  clung, 


76        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

refusing  to  ally  herself  with  labour  or  capital, 
trying  to  hold  to  a  middle  course  where  labour 
and  capital  might  meet.  At  a  meeting  of  a  club 
of  secularists  which  she  addressed,  a  voice  from 
the  audience  called: 

*^  You  are  all  right  now,  but  mark  my  words, 
when  you  are  subsidised  by  the  millionaires  you 
will  be  afraid  to  talk  like  this." 

**  I  do  not  intend  to  be  subsidised  by  million- 
aires," quickly  returned  Miss  Addams,  "  nor 
do  I  propose  to  be  bullied  by  workingmen,  and 
I  shall  state  my  honest  opinion  without  con- 
sulting either."  To  her  surprise  the  radical 
audience  broke  into  applause.  That  speech 
epitomises  Miss  Addams 's  stand  at  Hull 
House. 

**  The  thing  I  remember  about  the  early  days 
at  Hull  House,"  said  a  woman  who  has  known 
the  House  during  all  the  years  of  its  existence, 
**  is  that  no  matter  who  called,  nor  when.  Miss 
Addams  or  Miss  Starr  always  opened  the  door. 
There  were  servants  in  the  house,  of  course, 
but  they  never  answered.  Miss  Addams  or  Miss 
Starr  let  you  in."  The  personal  attention  to 
the  opening  of  the  door  represented  Hull 
House's  first  mission — that  of  neighbourliness. 
To  be  neighbourly  to  the  folk  surrounding  Hull 
House  required  considerable  effort  as  well  as  a 
great  deal  of  tact  and  discrimination.    Situated 


JANE  ADDAMS  77 

in  the  heart  of  a  foreign  district  Hull  House 
is  equally  accessible  to  a  colony  of  ten  thousand 
Italians,  and  somewhat  smaller  settlements  of 
Germans,  Polish  and  Russian  Jews.  A  little 
farther  away  but  still  within  reaching  distance 
of  settlement  activities,  are  large  numbers  of 
Bohemians,  Canadian-French,  Irish  and  Irish- 
Americans.  Differences  of  race  and  religion  as 
well  as  of  temperament  made  Miss  Addams's 
task  no  easy  one.  But  from  the  first  all  of 
these  varied  groups  accepted  the  new  settlement 
in  all  sincerity.  The  vicinity  of  Hull  House 
knew  no  snobbishness.  Miss  Addams  and  Miss 
Starr  were  asked  quite  as  a  matter  of  course, 
"  to  wash  the  new-born  babies,  to  prepare  the 
dead  for  burial,  to  nurse  the  sick  and  '  to  mind 
the  children.'  "  As  sincerely  as  it  was  asked 
of  them.  Miss  Addams  and  Miss  Starr  accepted 
these  novel  tasks,  and  the  two  gentlewomen, 
reared  in  ease,  found  their  days  filled  with  the 
humblest  services,  performed  under  conditions 
blacker  than  they  had  imagined.  For  months 
these  simple  services,  together  with  certain  so- 
cial activities,  were  all  that  Hull  House  dared 
essay.  But  however  beautiful  and  poetic  the 
literal  caring  for  the  sick  and  ministering  to 
those  who  mourned,  there  was  more  important 
work  to  be  done.  Hull  House  still  administers 
to  these  needs  in  the  persons  of  nurses  and 


78        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

visiting  housekeepers  supplied  by  societies  or- 
ganised since  its  inception,  but  local  conditions 
soon  made  public  work  for  the  general  welfare 
imperative.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  fea- 
tures of  the  new  Settlement  was  the  filth  that 
surrounded  it.  Streets  and  alleys  reeked  with 
foul  smells  arising  from  piles  of  decaying  rub- 
bish. Housewives  innocently  swept  the  refuse 
from  their  kitchens  into  the  gutters  as  they 
had  in  the  little  villages  from  whence  they  came. 
In  the  village  street  the  piles  of  refuse  here 
and  there  exposed  to  sun  and  air  might  decay 
and  disintegrate  without  great  menace  to  the 
inhabitants,  but  when  five  families  dwelt  in  one 
small  house  and  small  house  crowded  against 
small  house  and  the  piles  grew  to  be  one  con- 
tinuous layer,  the  danger  of  disease  was  plain. 
After  three  summers  of  breathing  air  pol- 
luted by  the  smell  of  decaying  refuse.  Miss 
Addams  grew  desperate.  For  three  years  she 
had  tried  to  fight  the  evil,  first  by  establishing 
an  incinerator  at  Hull  House,  and  second,  by 
reporting  conditions  to  City  Hall,  and  third,  by 
endeavouring  to  educate  the  people  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood. But  Miss  Addams 's  most  vigorous 
talks  to  mothers  concerning  the  menace  of  a  de- 
caying garbage  pile  failed  of  effect  when  the 
local  collector  did  not  appear;  pails  overflowed 
and  there  was  no  place  to  put  garbage  save  the 


JANE  ADDAMS  79 

gutter.  In  desperation  she  applied  for  the  job 
of  removing  the  garbage  from  the  Nineteenth 
Ward.  She  did  not  expect  to  receive  the  con- 
tract, but  was  rewarded  for  her  persistence 
when  the  Mayor  of  the  City  appointed  her  Gar- 
bage Inspector  for  the  Ward.  The  salary  ac- 
companying the  position  was  one  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year.  Miss  Addams  earned  it.  She  was 
on  the  streets  at  six  in  the  morning  to  see  that 
the  men  were  at  work ;  she  followed  the  wagons 
with  their  malodorous  contents  to  be  certain 
that  they  were  not  overfull  and  that  hasty  and 
careless  loading  did  not  permit  droppings  to 
mark  their  pathway.  She  visited  the  unspeak- 
able dumps;  she  prosecuted  landlords  who 
failed  to  provide  proper  receptacles  for  gar- 
bage. She  investigated  the  stables  in  the  dis- 
trict, and  insisted  upon  prompt  removal  of  their 
refuse.  It  was  a  thoroughly  unpleasant  busi- 
ness for  that  first  summer,  but  the  rewards  were 
many.  The  neighbourhood  about  Hull  House 
began  to  look  fairly  clean.  One  street  in  par- 
ticular marked  a  veritable  triumph.  Miss 
Addams  found  it  apparently  unpaved,  although 
the  city  plans  recorded  its  paving.  Tentatively 
she  dug  into  the  dank,  unpleasant  surface  which 
was  composed  entirely  of  refuse,  and  finding 
nothing  that  resembled  earth  underneath  she 
kept  on.    At  a  depth  of  eighteen  inches  she 


80        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

found  the  lost  paving !  It  took  a  personal  visit 
from  the  Mayor  to  convince  him  that  such  a 
thing  could  be,  and  then  he  insisted  upon  the 
contractor  removing  the  accumulation.  When 
the  long-lost  pavement  reappeared  the  residents 
in  the  street  regarded  it  with  curiosity.  The 
most  of  them  had  never  seen  it ! 

It  is  impossible  to  crowd  into  one  short  arti- 
cle the  work  of  twenty-five  years  at  Hull  House, 
but  a  resume  of  some  of  its  activities  and  min- 
istrations serves  to  show  why  Hull  House  be- 
came famous,  first  locally  and  then  nationally 
as  a  pioneer  in  a  new  kind  of  settlement  work. 
With  the  exception  of  religion  there  was  no  hu- 
man interest  that  it  failed  to  touch.  In  a  day 
when  kindergartens  were  unknown  it  estab- 
lished one;  long  before  Mrs.  Young  brought 
handiwork  into  the  schools  of  Chicago,  Hull 
House  had  organised  classes  in  manual  train- 
ing. When  recreation  centres  were  not  dreamed 
of  Hull  House  had  established  various  forms 
of  social  life  adapted  to  its  people.  These  in- 
cluded parties  for  the  babies,  dances  for  the 
young  and  receptions  to  the  neighbourhood 
pioneers, — the  old  folks  who  had  dwelt  about 
Hull  House  all  their  lives.  True  to  the  spirit 
of  modem  social  work  all  these  undertakings 
and  many  more  rested  upon  investigations.  It 
required  no  investigation  upon  the  part  of  Miss 


JANE  ADDAMS  81 

Addams  to  convince  her  that  the^  people  young 
and  old  needed  social  life,  nor  that  the  streets 
needed  cleaning.  Daily  she  had  demonstrations 
of  both  needs  as  she  walked  the  filthy  streets, 
and  saw  through  the  open  windows  the  young 
folk  carousing  in  the  dance  halls,  and  the  deso- 
late old  folk  sitting  idle  in  the  dreary  comers 
of  the  squalid  tenements.  But  the  enormous 
activity  of  Hull  House  could  not  be  sustained 
upon  Miss  Addams 's  slender  resources.  To 
convince  the  outsider  figures  were  needed.  Con- 
sequently every  undertaking  at  Hull  House  was 
preceded  or  immediately  followed,  when  the  un- 
dertaking was  an  emergency,  by  a  thorough  in- 
vestigation. The  investigations  brought  results. 
They  convinced  the  outsider;  they  brought 
funds  to  Hull  House,  but  more  than  this,  they 
helped  Miss  Addams  to  know  her  section  of 
Chicago.  No  one  knows  Chicago  as  does  Miss 
Addams.  Officials  succeed  each  other,  political 
bosses  change  and  Miss  Addams  remains.  And 
even  if  the  political  bosses  do  remain,  they  are 
able  to  see  but  one  side.  Investigations  made 
at  Hull  House  are  impartial  and  dispassionate, 
regarding  the  welfare  of  humanity  as  the  one 
end  of  life. 

With  this  end  in  view,  they  have  certain  very 
practical  results.  One  of  the  first  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  coffee  house,  which  also  sold  pre- 


82        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

pared  foods  to  the  mothers  who  worked  all  day 
in  factories,  followed  by  the  establishment  of  a 
co-operative  lodging  house  for  working  girls 
who  were  homeless  or  far  away  from  their 
homes.  The  latter  has  grown  into  the  famous 
"  Jane  Club,"  named  for  Miss  Addams,  which 
now  possesses  an  attractive  building  of  its  own 
and  carries  on  various  activities  independent  of 
the  main  settlement.  A  day  nursery  maintained 
for  sixteen  years,  afterwards  transferred  to  the 
United  Charities  of  Chicago,  was  opened  long 
before  a  United  Charities  was  thought  of.  The 
garbage  investigations,  already  instanced,  re- 
sulted in  the  cleaning  up  of  some  of  the  filth 
of  the  Nineteenth  Ward ;  the  housing  investiga- 
tion into  a  campaign  for  ordinances  covering 
the  construction  of  tenements  which  actually 
succeeded  in  having  passed  by  the  City  Councils 
a  model  tenement  house  code,  although  to  se- 
cure its  enforcement  a  battle  was  waged  that 
necessitated  the  discharge  of  almost  half  the 
inspecting  force.  An  investigation  into  the  sale 
of  cocaine  and  similar  drugs  also  resulted,  after 
many  years,  in  a  new  and  better  law,  better 
enforced,  to  deal  with  the  evil.  Research  into 
the  methods  used  in  dealing  with  recent  immi- 
grants resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  branch 
station  of  the  Federal  Post-office  at  Hull  House, 
so  that  the  alien  who  w^anted  to  send  money 


JANE  ADDAMS  83 

home  to  his  family  might  do  so  without  being 
defrauded.  An  investigation  into  the  laws  gov- 
erning the  work  of  children  led  to  a  campaign 
resulting  in  the  framing  of  recommendations 
which  were  incorporated  in  the  first  factory 
law  of  Illinois,  and  in  the  passage  of  subsequent 
laws  affecting  the  sweatshops  and  the  labour  of 
women. 

Miss  Addams  did  not  accomplish  all  this 
alone.  One  of  her  most  successful  achievements 
is  that  Hull  House  actually  did  in  a  measure 
fulfil  her  twofold  ambition.  Young  women  who 
needed  work  as  a  means  of  self-expression  did 
come  and  reside  in  the  "  big  house  among  the 
horrid  little  houses."  And  as  the  spirit  that 
actuates  modern  philanthropy  grew,  both  men 
and  women  who  wanted  to  do  social  work, 
whether  as  a  means  of  livelihood  or  as  a  method 
of  self-expression,  or  both,  drifted  naturally  to 
Hull  House,  as  the  foremost  settlement  repre- 
sentative of  the  modern  spirit.  Among  them 
Miss  Addams  excited  the  same  spirit  of  al- 
most passionate  devotion  shown  by  the  women 
of  the  suffrage  association.  At  Hull  House 
Miss  Addams  was  the  dynamic  force.  So  in- 
tense was  this  personal  feeling  that  the  spirits 
of  the  residents  of  the  Settlement  rose  and  fell 
with  Miss  Addams. 

*'  When  Miss  Addams  had  a  headache,"  said 


84        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

one  visitor  to  Hull  House,  "  the  residents  went 
about  with  hushed  voices  and  soft  tread,  not 
that  Miss  Addams  required  it,  but  that  they 
just  naturally  felt  that  way.  When  she  recov- 
ered, everybody  was  gay."  This  extreme  per- 
sonal devotion  lent  itself  well  to  Miss  Addams 's 
sincere  desire  to  forward  the  cause  of  Hull 
House.  Work  undertaken  by  the  young  men 
and  women  who  were  with  her  proved  notable 
work.  Many  of  the  one-time  residents  of 
Hull  House  are  now  almost  as  famous  as 
Miss  Addams,  specialising  in  some  particular 
line,  of  which  Hull  House  was  the  starting 
point. 

Not  only  did  Miss  Addams  ally  herself  with 
individuals  but  with  any  public  or  semi-public 
body  bound  upon  the  same  mission.  With  the 
nine  other  Settlements  now  existent  in  Chicago, 
Hull  House  imdertook  an  investigation  into  the 
work  of  the  city  newsboys ;  with  the  Committee 
of  Fifty  it  analysed  the  social  value  of  the  sa- 
loons ;  in  co-operation  with  the  American  Acad- 
emy of  Science  it  undertook  an  investigation 
into  infant  mortality  in  its  relation  to  nation- 
ality. Ahvays  true  to  her  theory  of  working 
together,  Miss  Addams  has  stood  ready  to  join 
any  movement  for  the  common  good.  Her  ap- 
pointments to  special  committees  and  associa- 
tions for  special  purposes  have  been  too  numer- 


JANE  ADDAMS  85 

ous  to  recount.  In  addition  to  these  she  has 
held  in  the  twenty-five  years  various  public  of- 
fices, beginning  with  that  of  Garbage  Inspector 
for  the  Nineteenth  Ward.  For  some  years  she 
was  an  active  member  of  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Education.  During  the  Pullman  strike  she  was 
a  conspicuous  member  of  the  Convention  on  In- 
dustrial Conciliation  and  arbitration,  and  during 
the  later  teamsters'  strike  she  was  again  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  arbitrators. 

From  childhood  Miss  Addams  has  been  an  ad- 
vocate of  woman  suffrage.  John  Addams  had 
believed  in  suffrage;  his  daughter  accepted  the 
belief  as  a  matter  of  course.  When  she  was 
aftending  Rockford  College,  she  with  other  en- 
thusiasts in  the  cause  of  woman  applied  for 
an  opportunity  for  that  college  to  compete  in 
the  intercollegiate  oratorical  contest  of  Illinois. 
Rockford  was  admitted  as  the  first  woman's  col- 
lege to  compete  and  Miss  Addams  was  elected 
as  its  orator.  When  the  competition  had  ended 
she  was  accorded  fifth  place,  and  returned  to 
find  herself  disgraced  in  the  eyes  of  her  class- 
mates because  she  had  failed  to  make  her  male 
competitors  yield  her  first  and  so  failed  the 
cause  of  woman.  In  later  years  she  has  always 
been  allied  with  the  National  Woman's  Suf- 
frage Association  in  which  she  has  held  many 
offices,  retaining  that   of  Vice  President   for 


86        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

years.  The  introduction  of  the  plank  for  woman 
suffrage  into  the  platform  of  the  Progressive 
Party  at  the  time  of  its  formation  is  credited 
largely  to  her  influence,  and  certainly  the  mere 
impetus  of  her  personality  and  her  direct  en- 
trance into  political  matters  has  made  many 
who  were  opposed  or  indifferent  warm  sup- 
porters of  the  suffrage  cause. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  work  at  Hull  House 
her  support  of  woman  suffrage  proved  a  stum- 
bling-block in  neighbourhood  work.  Many  of  the 
foreign-born  women  failed  to  understand  the 
suffrage  work,  as  they  had  come  from  lands 
where  male  suffrage  was  far  from  universal 
and  woman  suffrage  not  discussed  as  a  possi- 
bility. Going  fearlessly  about  to  strange  tene- 
ments at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night  to  nurse 
the  sick  or  care  for  the  new-born  babies  was 
a  comprehensible,  womanly  task,  but  the  women 
looked  askance  at  Miss  Addams's  inspection  of 
alleys  and  streets,  her  first  departure  into  public 
matters. 

When  this  was  followed  by  a  housing  inves- 
tigation their  disapproval  grew,  and  Miss 
Addams  became  accustomed  to  performing  some 
neighbourly  office,  such  as  the  bathing  of  an  in- 
valid, to  the  accompaniment  of  a  drastic  lecture 
upon  her  straying  into  the  paths  destined  to  be 
trodden  by  men,  alone. 


JANE  ADDAMS  87 

As  the  years  passed  this  feeling  of  antag- 
onism towards  the  public  work  was  somewhat 
softened,  the  second  generation  of  immigrants 
boldly  joining  the  suffragists.  Many  of  those 
of  the  first  generation,  finding  through  the 
trades  union  the  power  of  having  a  voice  in 
affairs,  also  became  converts.  When  Hull 
House  was  organised,  trades  unions  among  Chi- 
cago women  were  rare,  but  in  twenty-five  years 
they  have  multiplied  rapidly,  and  to  them  Hull 
House  has  always  extended  a  helping  hand. 
The  women  shirtmakers  and  the  women  cloak- 
makers  were  organised  in  the  House  itself,  as 
was  also  the  Dorcas  Federal  Labour  Union,  a 
united  body  of  representatives  from  all  unions 
in  the  city  which  received  women  in  member- 
ship. 

A  picture  of  the  Hull  House,  of  which  Miss 
Addams  is  the  Head  Resident,  to-day  involves 
such  a  number  of  elements  as  to  be  difficult  to 
reduce  to  words.  The  original  *'  big  House  " 
has  grown  into  a  group  of  buildings — the  Jane 
Club,  before  mentioned;  the  Butler  Gallery, 
which  is  devoted  to  exhibits,  particularly  of 
pictures  and  works  of  art;  the  Children's 
House ;  the  Music  School ;  the  Hull  House  The- 
atre; the  Boys'  Club  Building,  which  contains 
workshops,  where  instruction  is  given  in  wood, 
iron,  brass,  copper  and  tin,  commercial  photog- 


88        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

raphy,  printing,  electrical  construction  and 
telegraphy;  and  the  Hull  House  Gymnasium. 
In  these  are  carried  on  the  most  varied  activi- 
ties, not  only  those  indicated  by  the  names  of 
the  buildings,  but  also  college  extension  classes, 
a  summer  school  and  a  labour  museum.  The 
last  is  a  unique  feature. 

One  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  the  work 
at  Hull  House  was  that  of  the  antagonism  be- 
tween the  immigrants  and  their  children.  The 
youngsters,  picking  up  American  dress,  and 
American  customs,  fell  easily  into  the  habit  of 
despising  their  parents  and  of  regarding  their 
knowledge  as  of  little  worth.  While  visiting  in 
the  neighbourhood  Miss  Addams  came  across  an 
Italian  woman  spinning  with  the  old  distaff  in 
her  hands.  Shortly  after  there  was  an  exhibit 
of  weaving  at  Hull  House,  at  which  women  of 
various  nationalities  demonstrated  their  meth- 
ods. From  this  developed  the  Labour  Museum, 
now  a  permanent  institution,  where  are  kept 
the  primitive  instruments  upon  which  the 
women  work,  dressed  in  the  garments  of  their 
own  manufacture,  a  picturesque  and  valuable 
exhibit,  since  the  sons  and  daughters  who  come 
to  Hull  House  have  learned  to  be  proud  of  the 
skill  of  mothers  who  are  thus  honoured. 

The  residents  at  Hull  House  now  number 
nearly  fifty,  and  the  majority  of  these  are  busi- 


JANE  ADDAMS  89 

ness  and  professional  people  who  spend  only 
their  leisure  time  in  settlement  work.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  clubs  and  classes  there  are 
always  new  enterprises  on  hand,  and  Hull  House 
varies  from  month  to  month  and  from  year  to 
year  according  to  the  conditions  governing  the 
portion  of  humanity  to  which  it  appeals.  Miss 
Addams,  as  a  figure  of  national  importance,  is 
frequently  absent,  but  Hull  House  activities  go 
on.  Although  her  personal  influence  has  been 
one  of  the  main  factors  in  the  success  of  the 
Settlement,  she  has  also  succeeded  in  making 
her  work  independent  of  her  personality. 

During  the  past  five  years  she  has  figured  in 
many  national  undertakings,  the  most  conspicu- 
ous of  these  her  acceptance  of  a  commission  as 
a  delegate  in  the  Progressive  Party.  And  in 
the  midst  of  this  activity  she  had  found  time  to 
write.  Her  books  on  social  topics, ''  Democracy 
and  Social  Ethics,"  "  Newer  Ideals  of  Peace," 
"  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets," 
"  A  New  Conscience  and  an  Ancient  Evil,"  and 
particularly  her  "  Twenty  Years  at  Hull 
House,"  are  valuable  additions  to  America's 
literature  on  social  problems. 

Her  popularity  with  her  own  sex  is  signifi- 
cant. For  her  fame  rests  not  upon  mental  bril- 
liancy nor  versatility,  although  she  possesses 
both,  but  on  those  twenty-five  years  of  steady 


90        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

daily  service  to  the  people  about  her.  Because 
of  these  she  is  honoured,  and  her  position 
among  American  women  to-day  is  in  itself  a 
revelation  of  the  ideals  of  the  present  feminist 
movement. 


KATE  BARNARD 


KATE  BARNARD 


This  is  a  melodrama  of  modern,  up-to-date 
politics.  The  scene  is  Oklahoma,  the  time  is 
the  present  and  the  heroine  is  Kate  Barnard. 
By  way  of  a  prologue,  a  word  of  explanation. 

Oklahoma  is  a  new  State.  It  is  still  in  its 
early  childhood,  for  it  is  but  five  years  old. 
New  States  can  well  be  the  scenes  of  strange 
and  unusual  activities.  They  are  without  prece- 
dent; their  political  offices  are  free  from  the 
"  dead  wood  "  of  family  history  and  of  family 
influence.  And  so  it  happens  that  in  the  State 
of  Oklahoma  (where  women  do  not  vote),  a 
woman  helped  to  plan  twenty-four  of  the  planks 
in  the  constitution,  had  three  of  them  named  for 
her  and  created  and  was  elected  to  the  first 
State  office  in  the  world  occupied  by  a  woman, 
simply  because  she  could  fill  that  office,  and  the 
new  State,  without  any  prejudice  or  precedent 
concerning  sex  to  bother  it,  gladly  accepted 
her. 

This  does  not  mean  that  life  in  Oklahoma  is 
free  from  complexities.  Oklahoma  is  new,  but 
it  is  the  epitome  of  civilisation.    All  the  virtues 

93 


94        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

of  older  States  are  there,  and  all  the  vices  also. 
Oklahoma  imported  slums  when  she  imported 
fireproof  buildinp:s.  She  knows  the  vice  of  graft 
as  well  as  the  virtue  of  compulsory  education. 
She  is  simply  any  other  State  unencumbered 
by  tradition,  so  that  when  she  moves  it  is  at  a 
pace  that  keeps  her  sister  States  panting  with 
the  effort  to  keep  up  with  her. 

Kate  Barnard  is  the  strongest  individual 
force  in  the  State  of  Oklahoma.  Officially  she 
lias  been  recognised  by  election  to  the  self- 
created  office  of  Commissioner  of  Charities  and 
Corrections,  which  she  filled  for  two  successive 
terms  of  four  years  each,  declining  to  run  for 
a  third. 

Ask  any  politician  in  Oklahoma  who  is  the 
best  vote-getter  in  the  State;  he  will  answer, 
**  Kate  Barnard."  Ask  an  ordinary  citizen  who 
can  boast  of  the  greatest  personal  popularity; 
he  will  answer,  "  Kate  Barnard."  Ask  a 
workingman  or  any  union  of  workingmen  who 
is  the  best  friend  of  labour;  they  will  answer, 
**  Kate  Barnard."  At  her  last  election  she 
polled  the  largest  vote  in  the  State,  running 
ahead  of  her  ticket  and  beating  Governor  Cruce 
by  485  votes,  and  received  a  majority  of  28,798 
over  her  Eepublican  opponent,  while  the  Gov- 
ernor received  20,691. 

This  State  force  is  thirty  years  old.    She  is 


KATE  BARNARD  95 

a  slight  little  woman,  with  soft,  black  hair  and 
sharp,  blue  eyes.  She  looks  like  a  sixteen-year- 
old  girl,  for  her  weight  at  the  best  of  times  is 
not  over  ninety  pounds,  and  when  she  has  been 
working  hard  it  is  not  over  eighty.  "  Eighty- 
five  pounds  of  dynamite,"  someone  laughingly 
called  her,  and  the  phrase  is  well  put,  for  every 
pound  of  the  little  woman's  body  radiates  force. 
All  through  the  State  she  is  called  by  her  first 
name.  "  Miss  Barnard  "  is  seldom  heard, 
**  Miss  Kate  "  only  occasionally;  but  "  Kate," 
**  Our  Kate  "  and  "  Oklahoma  Kate  "  are 
household  words. 

Kate  came  to  Oklahoma  when  she  was  a  girl 
of  twelve.  Her  mother  was  dead;  her  father 
had  lost  a  great  deal  of  his  property  and  wanted 
to  file  a  claim  for  a  farm.  He  placed  Kate  on 
the  farm  and  went  to  the  city  to  make  a  living. 
Out  in  the  woods,  the  Httle  girl  stayed  in  a  tiny, 
two-room  hut,  lonely  and  half  afraid.  Her 
father  secured  an  appointment  as  postmaster 
for  the  country  around;  but  as  he  was  away, 
Kate  was  the  actual  postmistress.  She  had  very 
little  schooling — two  or  three  years  in  a  convent 
school.  In  this  short  time  she  learned  enough 
to  become  a  teacher  in  a  country  school,  and 
with  the  product  of  her  labour  here  she  studied 
stenography.  She  was  ambitious,  energetic  and 
quick.    She  progressed  rapidly  in  stenographic 


96        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

work  uDtil  she  became  a  political  reporter.  At 
two  territorial  legislative  sessions  she  was  re- 
porter for  the  senate,  the  highest  paid  position 
of  its  kind. 

Then  came  the  year  of  the  World's  Fair  at 
St.  Louis.  Oklahoma  wanted  to  be  a  State.  Ok- 
lahoma had  an  exhibit  and  wanted  a  boomer  to 
show  off  that  exhibit  and  to  convince  every 
visitor  to  the  Fair  that  Oklalioma  deserved 
statehood.  There  were  four  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  men  and  women  in  Oklahoma  who 
thought  themselves  properly  equipped  for  the 
task.  It  was  assigned  to  Kate  Barnard.  She 
went  to  St.  Louis  and  boomed  Oklahoma  in  a 
manner  that  thoroughly  satisfied  the  Oklaho- 
mans,  but  she  found  time  to  do  several  things 
besides. 

One  day  the  city  editor  of  a  St.  Louis  paper 
looked  up  from  his  desk  into  the  face  of  a  little 
woman  who,  without  waiting  for  preliminaries, 
said  abruptly,  ''  I  am  Kate  Barnard  of  Okla- 
homa, and  I  expect  to  make  a  career.  I  am  in- 
terested in  poverty  and  crime.  I  want  to  cure 
them.  Please  send  me  to  the  slums  in  St.  Louis 
to  look  into  the  matter." 

The  editor  was  highly  amused.  But  there 
happened  to  be  a  reporter  in  the  office  who  was 
especially  fitted  to  be  the  young  lady's  guide;  so 
he  detailed  him  for  the  task.    The  reporter  was 


KATE  BARNARD  97 

a  poet,  filled  with  the  horror  of  his  new  experi- 
ence in  writing  u^^  daily  the  awful  happenings 
of  humanity.  He  guided  Miss  Kate  through 
the  slums  and  helped  her  to  see  that  mass  of 
misery  with  his  eyes.  What  she  said  went  into 
the  paper  the  next  day.  It  aroused  all  St.  Louis. 
It  brought  the  discharge  of  the  poet,  but  it 
awoke  the  citizens  to  righteous  indignation. 
And  Miss  Kate  kept  on  talking  to  any  reporter 
who  would  print  a  line.  She  told  of  the  tene- 
ments she  had  seen — of  their  dilapidated  state ; 
of  their  lack  of  plumbing,  of  room,  of  ventila- 
tion; of  their  overcrowding;  of  the  condition  of 
the  families  within  their  walls.  And  then  she 
pointed  out  that  these  tenements  brought  in  an 
income  of  a  million  and  a  half  a  year  to  their 
owners. 

Like  most  slums,  these  dilapidated  but  roomy 
houses  had  once  been  the  mansions  of  the 
rich,  and  the  ownership  was  still  vested 
in  the  families  of  the  former  occupants. 
They  indignantly  denied  Kate's  statements 
and  took  a  slumming  tour  in  order  that 
they  might  repudiate  them.  They  were  amazed 
at  the  condition  of  their  property.  For 
years  they  had  been  receiving  the  rents  at 
the  hands  of  agents,  without  a  thought  of 
the  property  itself.  The  result  was  the  organ- 
isation of  the  East  Side  Improvement  Society, 


98        AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

the  demolishing  of  many  rookeries  and  the 
building  in  their  stead  of  several  blocks  of  mod- 
ern, sanitary  tenement  flats. 

After  this  successful  campaign  for  social  bet- 
terment Miss  Barnard  again  visited  the  editor, 
asking  him  to  advise  her  where  she  ought  to 
go  next. 

*'  Why  don't  you  clean  up  Oklahoma?  "  he 
inquired. 

''  Why,  we  haven't  any  such  places  in  Okla- 
homa," indignantly  replied  Kate.  '*  I  never 
saw  them." 

''  Go  home  and  look,"  advised  the  editor. 

Kate  returned  home.  She  had  boomed  Okla- 
homa in  every  way,  and  the  territory  was  well 
pleased  with  its  representative.  But  Kate  had 
new  ideas.  She  began  to  look  for  slum  condi- 
tions at  home.  She  found  them.  Then  she  did 
what  seemed  the  best  thing  to  do  at  once — or- 
ganised a  coterie  of  young  girls  into  a  charity 
association  and  appealed  to  people  for  help. 
She  stacked  contributions  in  her  own  home, 
and  before  long  she  had  her  house  and  yard  full 
of  furniture,  clothing  and  food.  She  and  her 
young  friends  dressed  and  put  into  school  three 
hundred  children.  By  actual  count  she  gave 
out  ten  thousand  garments  to  the  needy  during 
the  first  year.  But  as  fast  as  she  gave  out  gar- 
ments, more  needy  came.    It  seemed  an  endless 


KATE  BARNARD  99 

task,  and  she  set  to  work  to  find  a  better  plan. 
She  went  to  a  leading  business  man  and  asked, 
*'  How  much  do  you  pay  out  monthly  for 
charity?  " 

''  Twenty-five  dollars." 

'  *  How  many  members  are  there  in  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce?  " 

"  Two  hundred." 

Miss  Kate  made  a  rapid  calculation. 

'*  Well,"  she  said,  "  you  are  paying  too  much. 
You  give  me  two  dollars  a  month,  and  I  will 
guarantee  to  make  it  go  as  far  as  twenty- 
five." 

He  gave  her  the  two  dollars.  So  did  several 
hundred  other  business  men.  With  their  aid 
and  that  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of 
the  Ministerial  Alliance  which  she  pressed  into 
service,  she  revived  a  defunct  Provident  Asso- 
ciation. She  made  herself  its  first  matron  and 
spent  her  winter  in  literally  clothing  the  naked 
and  burjdng  the  dead  and  nursing  the  sick.  She 
used  the  newspapers  as  much  as  they  would 
allow  her.  For  a  time  she  had  an  almost  daily 
appeal  in  The  Oklahoma)!.  She  began  to  realise 
how  Uttle  she  knew  about  charity  work  and  she 
persuaded  The  Oklahoman  to  send  her  on  a  trip 
to  secure  articles  from  workers  through  the 
country — Jacob  Riis,  Edwin  Markham,  Luther 
Burbank  and  Jane  Addams  among  them.    The 


100      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Oklahoman  printed  these  articles,  and  she  came 
back  filled  with  knowledge  and  enthusiasm. 

Charity  work  had  convinced  Miss  Kate  that 
the  solution  of  the  wage  question  would  solve 
many  other  of  her  problems.  She  joined  the 
American  Federation  of  Labour  and  got  permis- 
sion from  Samuel  Gompers  to  organise  the  un- 
skilled workmen  of  Oklahoma  City  into  a  union 
of  their  own.  She  saw  that  work  was  procured 
for  many  of  them  on  public  works  at  a  higher 
wage  scale,  and  demands  on  her  charity  bureau 
became  less  frequent.  All  this  time  she  worked 
for  any  reform  that  bettered  the  condition  of 
the  workers.  She  did  not  try  to  work  alone. 
She  campaigned  after  the  most  noted  reformers 
in  every  field  and  she  got  them.  Graham  Tay- 
lor, the  celebrated  sociologist,  helped  her  with 
her  work  against  child  labour ;  Charles  R.  Hen- 
derson, Professor  of  Sociology  at  the  University 
of  Chicago,  gave  her  information ;  Edwin  Mark- 
ham  wrote  a  poem  for  her;  Jack  London  was 
persuaded  to  give  her  a  newspaper  column; 
Luther  Burbank  wrote  for  her  "  The  Forming 
of  the  Human  Plant."  And  all  this  help  was 
heralded  in  the  daily  press  and  repeated  from 
platforms  and  pulpits.  Statehood  was  coming. 
All  this  was  a  plan  of  education  on  the  part  of 
Kate,  of  education  for  the  coming  constitution. 
She  found  funds  with  which  to  pay  the  expenses 


KATE  BARNARD  101 

of  experts  who  could  advise  as  to  the  different 
planks.  The  late  Samuel  J.  Barrows,  President 
of  the  International  Prison  Association,  trav- 
elled hundreds  of  miles  to  talk  on  the  prison 
plank.  Alexander  Johnson,  Secretary  of  the 
National  Charities  Conference,  drafted  the  law 
for  the  care  of  the  feeble-minded.  A.  J.  Mc- 
Kelway,  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  helped 
on  the  child  labour  section.  Jacob  Riis,  Hast- 
ings Hart  and  other  experts  helped.  But  Kate 
did  not  believe  in  experts  alone.  She  was  instru- 
mental in  organising  a  movement  to  call  to- 
gether the  working  class  representatives  to  de- 
cide upon  the  various  planks.  Delegates  repre- 
senting some  hundred  thousand  toilers  went  to 
Shawnee,  and  in  convention  formulated  what 
were  called  the  twenty-four  demands  of  labour. 
The  work  of  the  experts  helped  to  put  these 
demands  into  proper  shape.  Kate  approved  of 
them.  She  campaigned  for  them.  She  sent 
copies  of  every  one  of  the  twenty-four  demands 
to  every  candidate  for  delegate  to  the  constitu- 
tional convention  and  asked  for  his  support. 
Neither  Republicans  nor  Democrats  liked  this 
high-handed  way  of  telling  them  what  to  do. 
The  territory  had  been  a  Republican  territory. 
The  Republicans  decided  to  ignore  the  planks 
and  Miss  Kate.  The  Democrats  promised  to 
support  labour's  demands.    And  when  election 


102      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

came  there  were  ninety-eight  Democrats  and 
twelve  Republicans  elected,  a  sweeping  victory 
for  labour  and  for  Miss  Kate.  She  attended  the 
constitutional  convention.  She  made  speeches 
in  behalf  of  all  twenty-four  planks  and  espe- 
cially in  behalf  of  three:  one  against  child  la- 
bour, one  in  favour  of  compulsory  education  and 
one  creating  the  office  of  Commissioner  of  Chari- 
ties and  Corrections.  The  convention  named  the 
three  '*  Kate's  planks."  They  passed  the  whole 
twenty-four  demands  of  labour,  and  the  present 
constitution  of  Oklahoma,  thanks  to  Miss  Kate, 
is  known  as  the  most  perfect  State  constitution 
in  the  world. 

Then  she  became  candidate  for  the  position 
of  Commissioner  of  Charities  and  Corrections, 
on  the  Democratic  ticket.  She  won  by  twenty- 
nine  thousand  majority.  The  day  she  stepped 
into  office  she  silenced  the  tongues  that  were 
accusing  her  of  working  for  a  ''  nice  fat  job  " 
by  doing  a  curious  thing.  The  law  had  pro- 
vided two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  as  a 
fitting  salary  for  the  Commissioner  of  Charities 
and  Corrections.  Kate  Barnard  said  that 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  was  enough!  And  this 
is  the  salary  she  received  during  her  first  term. 

The  office  into  which  Kate  stepped  is  no  sine- 
cure. Among  her  many  duties  she  included  the 
charge  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  jails, 


KATE  BARNARD  103 

poorhouses,  orphanages,  rescue  homes  and  in- 
stitutions cahng  for  children,  the  deaf,  the  blind 
and  the  insane.  She  was  expected  to  suggest 
changes  in  the  material,  the  equipment  and  in 
the  management  of  these  institutions  both  pub- 
lic and  private.  The  constitution  of  the  State 
gave  her  the  power  to  suggest  changes,  and 
the  courts  of  Oklahoma  decided  that  she  had 
the  power  to  enforce  her  suggestions  whether 
in  private  or  public  institutions.  She  was  ex- 
pected to  formulate  constructive  legislation 
along  all  these  lines.  She  was  officially  the 
*'  next  friend  "  to  all  orphans,  all  friendless 
persons,  all  defectives  and  delinquent  persons, 
and  she  was  empowered  to  conduct  lawsuits  in 
their  behalf  and  see  that  they  are  not  defrauded 
of  their  property  or  personal  rights.  Kate 
stepped  into  the  office  when  she  was  in  her 
twenties.  One  of  the  first  things  she  did  was 
to  send  for  her  old  friend,  the  St.  Louis  editor, 
and  make  him  Assistant  Commissioner,  a  move 
which  showed  her  wisdom,  as  his  knowledge 
proved  invaluable  to  her. 

The  total  appropriation  for  the  office  of  Com- 
missioner of  Charities  and  Corrections  in  1911 
was  fifteen  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars.  At 
the  beginning  of  Kate's  term  it  was  still  less. 
Considering  this  sum,  infinitesimal  when  com- 
pared with  the  immense  appropriations  of  older 


104      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

States,  the  work  accomplished  by  the  office  is 
marvellous.  During  her  first  three  years  Kate 
took  five  hundred  children  out  of  the  mines  and 
placed  them  in  school  despite  the  efforts  of  the 
mine  workers  to  keep  them  at  work.  When  par- 
ents were  dependent  upon  the  labour  of  their 
children,  she  enforced  Oklahoma's  excellent 
compulsory  education  law — Kate's  o^vn — winch 
provides  that  the  dependent  parents  of  children 
under  sixteen  who  are  attending  school  shall 
receive  from  the  State  a  sum  equal  to  the  wages 
the  child  would  earn  during  the  school  term. 
It  may  be  supposed  that  in  the  progressive  West 
child  labour  is  rare.  But  that  is  one  of  the  im- 
ported vices  of  the  new  State.  Kate  had  one 
case  of  a  child  whose  parents  lived  at  Fort  Cobb, 
Oklahoma.  The  child  was  two  years  old.  He 
picked  forty  pounds  of  cotton  a  day,  dragging 
behind  him  a  sack  weighing  from  five  to  ten 
pounds !  Kate  rescued  him  among  the  five  hun- 
dred. She  kept  the  truant  officers  on  the  job 
until  the  truant  service  in  Oklahoma  has  been 
pronounced  the  best  in  the  country. 

She  was  just  as  diligent  in  the  matter  of  child 
labour.  The  law — again  Kate's  law — ^provides 
that  no  child  under  fourteen  shall  be  employed 
in  factories,  bowling  alleys,  in  poolrooms,  bil- 
liard halls  or  at  anything  held  by  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Charities  and  Corrections  to  he  injuri- 


KATE  BARNARD  105 

ous  to  health  or  morals.  Kate's  interpretation 
of  that  clever  little  last  clause  was  broad  enough 
to  satisfy  the  most  earnest  advocate  against 
child  labour.  The  remaining  clauses  provide 
that  no  child  under  sixteen  shall  be  employed 
where  machinery  or  acids  are  used,  or  goods 
manufactured  for  immoral  purposes.  No  girls 
are  allowed  to  stand  at  work.  No  children  and 
no  women  are  allowed  in  mines. 

Almost  as  soon  as  Kate  took  office  she  became 
involved  in  political  warfare.  The  Speaker  of 
the  legislature  was  unfriendly  toward  Kate  and 
her  legislation.  Kate  had  backed  the  Speaker 
with  all  her  might  one  year  before,  for  he,  as 
president  of  the  constitutional  convention,  had 
worked  for  her  three  planks  in  that  particular 
convention.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
and  soon  after  suffered  a  change  of  sentiment. 
Kate  believed  that  he  was  blocking  her  pro- 
gressive legislation. 

She  went  to  the  State  Federation  of  Labour 
and  had  it  declare  him  an  enemy  to  the 
masses  in  Oklahoma.  She  announced  that  she 
was  his  friend  personally,  but  she  would  fight 
him  to  the  death  politically.  She  challenged 
him  to  meet  her  in  debate.    He  declined. 

The  fight  became  so  intense  that  the  Speaker 
would  have  been  unseated  had  not  the  Governor 
and  mutual  friends  interfered.    She  performed 


106      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

the  unheard-of  feat  of  organising  the  Demo- 
cratic legislative  caucus  against  her  opponent. 
The  Speaker  kept  his  job;  but  thirty-two  of 
Miss  Kate's  bills  became  laws. 

Kate  worked  hard  for  a  Juvenile  Court  bill 
and  in  its  interest  visited  Judge  B.  Lindsey  in 
Denver,  Judge  Mack  in  Chicago  and  Judge 
Bishop  in  St.  Louis.    The  bill  passed. 

There  came  rumours  to  Oklahoma  that  the  Ter- 
ritory's  prisoners,  housed  in  Kansas,  were  be- 
ing harshly  treated.  Kate  asked  and  received 
authority  to  make  an  inspection.  Oklahoma  had 
no  prisons.  It  paid  the  State  of  Kansas  forty 
cents  a  day  for  each  convict  kept  and  permitted 
that  State  to  make  whatever  it  could  in  addition 
out  of  the  work  of  the  prisoners.  Kate  went 
into  that  prison.  She  crept  and  she  crawled 
through  the  inky  depths  of  the  State  coal  mine 
where  many  of  the  Oklahoma  prisoners  were 
employed.  The  whisper  of  her  coming  spread 
through  the  prisoners,  and  despite  the  vigilance 
of  her  conductors  she  heard  voices  about  her  in 
the  darkness : 

'*  Make  them  show  you  the  water-hole,  girl." 
'*  For  God's  sake  see  the  dungeon."  "  Don't 
go  away  without  seeing  the  crib. ' ' 

She  came  back  to  Oklahoma  with  twelve  dis- 
tinct charges  against  the  prison.  Governor 
Hocb  of  Kansas  indignantly  denied  her  charges 


KATE  BARNARD  107 

and  requested  Oklahoma  to  appoint  an  investi- 
gating commission.  The  commission  upheld 
Kate's  charges  and  added  twelve  more  of  their 
own.  Oklahoma  took  its  convicts,  six  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  of  them,  and  brought  them 
home.  The  men  thankfully  promised  not  to  try 
to  escape,  and  they  dwelt  contentedly  in  huts 
and  sheds  w^hile  erecting  with  their  own  hands 
a  prison  wherein  to  serve  the  remainder  of  their 
sentences. 

In  one  tour  of  inspection  Kate  visited  a 
county  jail.  She  found  there  eight  boys,  rang- 
ing in  age  from  eleven  to  fifteen  years,  in  cells 
with  men.  She  refused  to  leave  the  premises 
until  they  were  segregated.  She  spent  all  after- 
noon pleading  with  the  jailers  and  declaring  the 
boys  must  leave.  She  called  the  county  attorney 
and  the  county  judge.  Four  of  the  boys  had 
never  been  in  jail  before;  but  the  county  at- 
torney pronounced  them  incorrigible.  He  cited 
the  law  which  gave  the  justice  of  the  peace  juris- 
diction over  such  cases.    And  then  Kate  spoke. 

''  After  all  my  efforts  to  pass  a  Juvenile 
Court  law,"  she  said, ''  I  find  the  richest  county 
in  the  State  unaware  that  there  is  one.  The 
law  has  been  in  effect  for  over  a  year,  and  it 
is  beyond  me  why  you  do  not  know  about  it." 
The  boys  looked  at  her  in  wonder  as  she  settled 
herself  down,  declaring  that  she  intended  to 


108      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

stay  until  conditions  were  remedied.  And  at 
last  an  aroused,  very  sheepish  county  attorney 
and  several  disgruntled  officials  cleared  an  up- 
stairs room  and  placed  the  boys  in  it. 

For  a  long  time  the  citizens  of  Oklahoma  City 
have  dreamed  of  pure  drinking  water.  When 
the  city  was  but  a  third  of  its  present  size,  the 
dream  was  so  vivid  that  engineers  were  called 
there  to  make  complete  plans  for  a  good  supply 
and  a  thorough  system  of  purification.  The 
price  of  the  work,  however,  made  it  impossible, 
and  the  plans  were  shelved.  During  a  later  ad- 
ministration the  plans  were  taken  from  the 
pigeonholes,  politicians  passed  the  word  along 
that  there  would  be  something  doing  ere  long 
in  the  water  line,  and  the  land  on  both  banks 
of  the  nearest  streams  was  quietly  purchased. 
A  city  official  owned  so  much  of  it  that  he  re- 
signed his  office  when  the  question  of  water 
supply  came  up.  But  the  politicians  still  re- 
belled at  the  price.  So  they  had  another  en- 
gineer make  a  new  set  of  plans.  The  work  en- 
tailed by  these  was  much  cheaper,  since  no  ade- 
quate system  of  purification  was  included. 
Nothing  was  said  of  this  fact,  however,  and  the 
citizens  were  notified  of  a  one-million-and-a-half 
bond  issue  to  provide  funds.  They  were  to  vote 
for  the  bond  issue  on  a  Tuesday,  and  it  was 
the  preceding  Thursday  before  Kate  decided 


KATE  BARNARD  109 

she  would  like  to  look  into  that  water  matter. 
So  she  asked,  as  a  taxpayer,  to  be  taken  to  the 
site  for  the  works  and  shown  the  plans.  The 
officials  took  her  there  rather  reluctantly.  She 
heard  all  they  had  to  say  and  then  asked,  *'  And 
where  does  the  purification  come  in?  " 

At  that  they  laughed  and  assured  her  that  it 
made  no  difference. 

Kate  retorted  that  as  far  as  she  could  see  it 
made  a  great  deal  of  difference.  The  men  ar- 
gued and  cajoled,  and  finally  their  spokesman 
said,  ''  Well,  Miss  Kate,  we  don't  want  to  have 
any  trouble  with  you;  but  it's  too  late  for  all 
this.    Nothing  can  be  done  with  the  bill  now." 

Kate's  eyes  snapped.  She  is  a  little  woman, 
but  when  she  is  indignant  she  looks  tall. 

''  Well,"  she  retorted,  "I'll  see  about  that. 
I  never  will  allow  the  people  to  drink  polluted 
water. ' ' 

Thursday  she  began  her  campaign.  The  pa- 
pers refused  to  help  her.  She  sent  out  hundreds 
of  handbills,  headed,  in  big,  black  type,  with : 

DEATH  IN  THE  WATER 

Underneath  was  a  line  announcing  a  meeting 
on  the  proposed  bond  issue.  On  Saturday  night 
she  held  four  big,  continuous  meetings,  going 
from  room  to  room  to  speak. 


110      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

On  Sunday  morning  an  official  met  her  in 
the  lobby  of  her  hotel. 

"  Miss  Barnard,"  he  stated  clearly,  **  you're 
no  lady."  That  is  a  deadly  insult  in  Oklahoma. 
Two  men  sprang  toward  him  and  thrashed  him. 

On  Monday  bullies  were  hired  to  break  up 
Kate's  ward  meetings.  At  one  she  started  to 
speak,  when  the  injured  official  interrupted 
her  from  the  floor.  A  man  near  would  have 
stopped  him ;  but  Kate  called : 

'*  Let  him  speak." 

He  began  by  telling  the  crowd  that  Kate  knew 
nothing,  and  at  that  statement  two  burly  fel- 
lows near  him  took  him  by  his  collar  and  car- 
ried him  out.  Threatening  letters  were  sent 
her.  She  read  them  to  the  meeting.  Then  the 
crowd  stood  up  and  yelled : 

''  We'll  stand  by  you,  Kate." 

**  Well,"  she  stated,  "  I  need  money  for  hall 
rent. ' ' 

Out  on  the  platform  came  a  rain  of  dollars 
and  half  dollars  and  bills.  On  Tuesday  she  went 
in  an  auto  from  poll  to  poll.  The  vote  was  two 
to  one  against  the  bond  issue.  Then  the 
council  of  the  city,  chastened,  appointed  a  com- 
mission to  see  whether  they  could  not  combine 
economy  and  purity. 

When  the  time  came  for  re-election,  Kate 
had  many  enemies.     Any  good  fighter  does. 


KATE  BARNARD  111 

The  Democratic  party  again  named  her  on  their 
ticket.  The  Republicans  nominated  the  presi- 
dent of  the  State  suffrage  society  as  her  oppo- 
nent. Kate  has  never  been  particularly  inter- 
ested in  the  matter  of  suffrage. 

**  I  don't  consider  woman  suffrage  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  my  office,"  she  said.  *'  How- 
ever, if  the  gallantry  of  Oklahoma  were  to  grant 
women  the  right  to  vote,  you  can  bet  that  Kate 
Barnard  would  do  her  best  to  cast  an  intelligent 
vote.  But,"  she  adds,  "  I  am  more  interested 
in  saving  the  poor,  destitute,  blind,  deaf  and 
insane  than  in  securing  the  vote  for  women." 

Kate  went  out  campaigning.  But  there  was 
little  self-glorification  in  her  speeches.  They 
were  intended  to  educate  the  people  to  the  need 
for  protective  legislation. 

"  If  you  want  to  know  what  is  the  matter 
with  this  old  world,  go  out  into  the  woods  and 
see  how  God  made  it,"  she  advised  one  audi- 
ence. "  God  has  nothing  to  do  with  our  evils. 
The  fault  is  with  our  forefathers." 

"  Capital,  instead  of  looking  into  the  eye  of 
'  a  brother  of  mine,'  wonders  '  how  much  can 
I  get  out  of  him?  '  "  she  said  to  another.  Then 
she  added  sadly,  *'  There  is  no  use  getting 
swelled  up  over  Old  Glory  when  such  a  condi- 
tion as  this  exists  in  our  country." 

While  stumping  the  State,  she  heard  that 


112      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

the  miners,  who  had  been  out  of  work  five 
months,  were  in  dire  straits.  At  once  she  called 
off  all  speaking  dates  and  scurried  across  coun- 
try to  them,  bringing  aid  and  staying  until  they 
were  relieved. 

When  election  came  she  ran  twenty-nine  thou- 
sand ahead  of  the  woman  who  opposed  her. 

Always  frail  and  delicate,  the  beginning  of 
her  second  term  found  her  a  physical  wreck. 
But  she  found  rest  almost  impossible.  The 
.work  called  her  and  as  long  as  she  was  able  to 
stand  she  was  at  her  office.  There  were  days 
and  weeks  when  this  was  not  possible,  times  of 
desperate  illness.  Yet  in  the  first  year  of  her 
second  term  she  managed  to  recover  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars'  worth  of  property  for 
Indian  minors.  She  stood  as  the  ''  next 
friend  "  to  these  despoiled  children.  She  is 
trying  to  have  a  new  penal  law  passed  which 
will  revolutionise  prison  methods  and  a  new 
law  providing  for  scientific  hospital  care  for 
the  insane,  instead  of  the  custodial  care  now 
in  vogue.  When  illness  forces  her  to  be  away 
from  her  office,  she  writes  to  her  assistants  con- 
tinually. 

During  a  troubled  time  she  wrote  them: 

'*  When  temptation  comes  look  into  the  eye 
of  the  helpless  orphan  from  whose  side  they 
would  tear  you  with  a  lasso  of  gold ;  when  they 


KATE  BARNARD  113 

threaten  you  remember  that  you  can  die  but 
once.  If  they  touch  a  hair  of  your  heads,  I 
will  put  them  into  the  penitentiary,  so  help  me 
God!" 

That  is  no  idle  promise.  Kate  can  do  it  and 
she  will.  The  curtain  has  not  yet  run  down 
upon  the  finale  of  the  play.  The  end  is  not  yet 
written.  Did  melodrama  ever  present  a  more 
thrilling  heroine  than  Kate  Barnard  at  thirty, 
from  her  sick-bed  defying  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness, her  small  self  a  mighty  force  used  only 
for  good  in  behalf  of  the  weak  and  unfortunate  ? 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON 


*'  But  we  can't  build  that  unless  we  put  a 
window  in  it,"  argued  the  architect  with  the 
prospective  landlord,  ''  at  least  we  can't  in  In- 
dianapolis." 

''  We  can't,  eh?  "  returned  the  landlord. 
*' Why  can't  we?  " 

*'  Well,  you  see,"  explained  the  architect, 
**  Mrs.  Bacon's  tenement-house  law " 

''  Mrs.  Bacon's  law  be "  But  the  land- 
lord stopped  suddenly.  "  Ever  see  her?  "  he 
inquired,  smiling. 

**  Yes,"  assented  the  architect,  his  eyes 
merry  and  his  lips  twitching,  ''  I've  seen  her." 

''  Well,  put  in  the  window.  I  don't  want  to 
fight  Mrs.  Bacon." 

There  are  few  citizens  of  Indiana  who  do. 
Mrs.  Bacon  has  roused  Indiana  from  a  com- 
fortable and  complacent  slumber.  She  has  in- 
duced Indiana  to  take  a  strong  dose  of  pre- 
ventive medicine  which  does  not  agree  at  all 
with  a  certain  portion  of  her  population,  but 
bids  fair  to  succeed  in  keeping  Indiana  per- 
manently awake  to  the  necessity  of  more  dis- 

117 


118      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

agreeable  medicine.  And  Indiana  generally 
approves  of  the  treatment ! 

A  few  years  ago  the  citizens  of  Indiana  read 
of  the  evils  of  the  slum  as  of  a  strange  tale  of 
far-away  cities.  Indiana  considered  herself 
free  from  such  evils.  She  has  no  great  cities. 
Indianapolis,  the  largest,  has  a  population  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand,  a  mod- 
est total  when  compared  with  the  millions  of  the 
great  cities,  Philadelphia,  Chicago  and  New 
York.  Indiana  read  of  slum  conditions  in  these 
great  places  with  a  thrill  of  horror  and  a  touch 
of  complacency.  Indiana  was  free  from  slums. 
And  then  suddenly  upon  Indiana's  complacent 
dream  broke  a  voice  in  warning. 

*'  So  shall  you  be  fifty  years  hence.  In  your 
country  towns  are  the  slums  in  embryo.  In 
your  little  cities  to-day  are  the  evils  which 
threaten  great  ones — and  more — there  are  some 
that  are  peculiarly  your  own." 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  be  aroused  thus  from 
complacent  dreams.  Indiana,  aroused,  sought 
this  prophet.  And  it  found — Mrs.  Albion  Fel- 
lows Bacon. 

Mrs.  Bacon  came  without  fame  and  without 
credentials.  She  represented  no  society;  she 
bore  no  statistics.  She  appeared  before  her 
native  State  a  fragile,  tiny  woman,  with  scarce 
five  feet  to  uphold  her  dignity,  weak,  timid  and 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  119 

appealing,  her  one  strength  in  her  intensity  of 
purpose.  She  repeated  her  message  and  socie- 
ties and  individuals  rushed  to  her  support.  In- 
diana accepted  from  her  hands  its  first  tene- 
ment-house law — a  law  which  makes  slums  such 
as  those  in  our  great  cities  forever  impossible 
in  Indiana,  and  which  will  wipe  out  the  little 
plague  spots  now  in  existence.  And  having 
accepted  the  law  and  secured  its  passage,  In- 
diana named  it  after  its  maker.  The  State  is 
proud  of  Mrs.  Bacon. 

Mrs.  Bacon's  work  began  where,  according 
to  an  old  saying,  all  good  work  should  begin, 
at  home,  that  is  in  the  city  of  Evansville,  where 
she  resides.  For  the  first  ten  years  of  her  mar- 
ried life  she  was  a  semi-invalid  and  her  hands 
were  full  to  overflowing  with  a  husband  and 
four  children — including  twins.  As  she  grew 
stronger  the  consciousness  of  the  world  about 
her  own  household  oppressed  her.  The  daugh- 
ter of  a  minister,  she  had  been  taught  from 
early  childhood  that  she  had  a  social  duty  as 
well  as  a  personal  one,  and  she  confesses  with 
the  utmost  simplicity  that  all  at  once  she  real- 
ised that  she  was  not  visiting  the  sick,  the  poor 
and  those  in  prison  as  Christ  had  commanded. 
So  she  began  in  a  very  humble  way  to  visit  the 
sick  in  the  hospitals  and  in  their  homes.  Grad- 
ually she  interested  her  friends  and  as  a  result 


120      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

a  Flower  Mission  was  formed.  Following  the 
Flower  Mission,  she  became  one  of  a  Visiting 
Nurse  Circle.  This  circle  supplied  a  nurse  in 
homes  too  poor  to  afford  one,  where  the  patient 
could  not  for  some  reason  be  cared  for  at  a 
hospital.  In  both  these  organisations  Mrs. 
Bacon  met  cases  which  seemed  to  her  to  call 
for  masculine  treatment.  So  she  formed  a 
unique  circle  of  men  visitors.  These  men  vis- 
itors made  their  calls  in  the  evenings.  They 
were  business  men,  and  their  practical  help  did 
wonders  in  meeting  practical  problems.  A  little 
later  Mrs.  Bacon  helped  to  organise  a  Working 
Girls'  Association,  of  which  she  later  became 
the  president.  The  Working  Girls'  Association 
was  a  very  active  organisation.  Among  other 
things  it  fitted  up  a  room  in  a  respectable  lodg- 
ing house  for  any  girl  who  came  to  the  city  and 
who  found  herself  homeless.  It  placed  signs 
in  the  depot  telling  girls  newly  arrived  in  the 
city  where  to  apply  for  help;  it  maintained  a 
lunch  room,  dormitory,  a  library  and  social 
evenings.  Ten  years  of  this  kind  of  work  made 
their  impression  upon  Mrs.  Bacon.  One  day 
an  old  woman  came  to  her  home  to  ask  for  a 
dollar  to  help  pay  the  rent.  The  woman  was 
lame  and  walked  with  crutches. 

''  I'm  in  an  awful  place,"  she  sighed,  *'  and 
I  want  to  move  as  soon  as  I  can  find  a.  better 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  121 

one.  I've  been  sick  ever  since  I  came  there  on 
account  of  tlie  smells  in  the  yard.  I  have  to 
keep  my  windows  shut  all  the  time  on  ac- 
count of  them.  There  ain't  no  sink  and  no 
sewer  and  the  people  throw  everything  out  into 
the  yard.  The  people  that  tends  to  such  things 
ought  to  do  something  about  it." 

''  But,"  said  Mrs.  Bacon  thoughtfully, 
"  there  isn't  anyone  who  attends  to  such 
things." 

And  there  was  not.  Evansville  is  a  city  of 
about  seventy  thousand  inhabitants.  It  is  in  the 
farthest  point  south  in  the  State,  right  in  the 
corner  next  to  Kentucky,  and  it  borders  upon 
the  Ohio  River.  And  Evansville,  like  hundreds 
of  other  ,cities  just  growing  up,  has  passed  from 
the  village  stage,  where  everybody  knows  every- 
body and  the  community  at  large  acts  on  every- 
thing because  it  is  so  obvious,  into  that  of  the 
comparatively  large  city  where  evils  have 
ceased  to  be  known,  because  they  are  farther 
away,  and  are  not  so  acute  as  to  demand  at- 
tention. 

Mrs.  Bacon  talked  a  little  to  people  whom 
she  met  about  the  housing  of  the  poor,  and  the 
people  generally  shrugged  their  shoulders  and 
asked : 

''  What  do  you  expect?  The  poor  are  so 
shiftless  and  dirty. ' ' 


122      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Mrs.  Bacon  knew  that  they  were  dirty.  What 
she  could  not  understand  was  how  they  could 
be  anything  else. 

Evansville  had  sewers  and  city  water.  But 
neither  found  its  way  near  the  homes  of  the 
poor.  The  water  supply  was  invariably  a  ' '  cis- 
tern '*  in  the  back  yard.  Sometimes  the  ''  cis- 
tern "  supplied  twenty  families,  sometimes  only 
three.  The  cisterns  were  often  barrels  sunk 
about  one-third  into  the  ground  and  occasion- 
ally having  a  dilapidated  cover. 

These  barrels  were  filled  from  a  fire  plug  by 
means  of  a  long  hose,  or  with  rain  water  from 
the  roofs.  They  were  exposed  through  their 
defective  covers  to  the  dust  and  dirt  of  the  yard, 
to  cats  and  dogs  and  rats  which  climb  or  jump 
over  them  and  occasionally  fall  in,  and,  worst 
of  all,  to  infection  through  the  earth  from  the 
outside  vaults  and  surface  scum.  Water  in  such 
*'  cisterns  "  rarely  makes  anything  clean,  and 
when  to  this  is  added  the  fact  that  often  there 
was  not  enough  water  to  go  around,  it  is  little 
wonder  that  the  poor  were  dirty. 

"  They  look  pretty  bad,  don't  they?  '*  ob- 
served one  woman  to  Mrs.  Bacon  as  she  hung 
out  her  line  with  damp,  gray  clothes.  ''  But 
we  have  to  be  sparin '  of  the  water. ' ' 

When  tenements  are  three  and  four  stories 
high  and  there  is  nothing  but  a  cistern,  all  the 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  123 

water  for  washing,  cooking  and  drinking  must 
be  carried  up  those  two  or  three  flights  of  steps, 
and  when  there  are  four  little  children  and  days 
are  cold,  it  was  quite  a  natural  result  that  the 
poor  should  be  dirty. 

Mrs.  Bacon  thought  that  the  poor  did  look 
shiftless.  The  yard  conditions  were  bad  enough 
to  start  with,  and  the  people  made  them  worse 
by  throwing  refuse  of  every  kind,  dishwater  and 
garbage  into  the  yards.  But  there  was  actually 
no  other  place  to  throw  the  dishwater,  and  the 
garbage  was  collected  at  such  irregular  inter- 
vals that  to  avoid  keeping  it  in  the  living-rooms 
of  the  family  it  had  to  be  put  into  the  yards. 
There  was  no  room  for  the  garbage  to  remain 
indefinitely  in  the  living-rooms,  as  they  were 
fully  occupied  by  the  families. 

It  seems  almost  absurd  to  speak  of  over- 
crowding in  Evansville.  Yet  families  of  six  to 
twelve  people  were  crowded  into  one  room,  cook- 
ing, eating  and  sleeping,  in  many  places.  Some 
had  two  rooms  or  even  three,  but  often  the 
sleeping-room  had  no  window  and  the  air  was 
foul.  And  these  people  were  not  tramps,  but 
labourers  and  mill  workers,  who  lived  in  such 
quarters  because  they  were  the  only  ones  which 
could  be  secured. 

Added  to  this  Mrs.  Bacon  found  such  minor 
details  as  leaky  roofs,  dangerous  stairways,  and 


124      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

entire  absence  of  paint  which  made  clothes, 
mothers,  babies,  walls  and  all  a  hopeless,  sodden 
gray.  In  indignation  she  sought  the  secretary 
of  the  Charity  Organisation  Society. 

''  Why  do  not  the  landlords  cut  windows  in 
those  dark  rooms!  "  she  demanded.  "  Why  do 
they  not  mend  those  dangerous  stairways  and 
those  leaky  roofs?  Why  do  they  not  drain  the 
yards  and  put  in  hydrants?  "  And  the  secre- 
tary answered  wearily : 

''  They  do  not  have  to.  The  houses  bring 
good  rent  anyway,  and  there  is  no  law  to  require 
it." 

Mrs.  Bacon  went  home  thoughtful.  It  ap- 
peared that  the  poor  would  keep  on  being  shift- 
less and  dirtier  than  ever  under  such  condi- 
tions. And  she  knew  only  too  well  that  there 
was  no  help.  Evansville  is  a  mill  town;  popu- 
lation is  somewhat  transitory,  and  a  respectable 
workman  with  even  a  fair  salary  had  actually 
no  other  place  to  live  in  than  those  dangerous, 
disease-breeding  rattletraps.  It  was  evident 
that  the  rent  paid  was  sufficient  to  be  worth 
better  quarters.  It  occurred  to  Mrs.  Bacon  that 
there  ought  to  be  ''  someone  to  attend  to  those 
things. ' ' 

"  But,"  she  confesses,  "  it  never  did  occur 
to  me  for  a  long  while  that  that  '  someone  '  was 
I.     The  conditions  made  me  literally  sick.     I 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  125 

used  to  lie  awake  at  night  and  see  those  people. 
I  would  see  the  babies  crawling  in  the  filthy 
yards.  I  could  feel  the  wind  through  the 
cracked  walls.  But  still  I  never  realised  that  / 
could  do  anything  about  it." 

Then  one  morning  Mrs.  Bacon  picked  up  her 
paper  and  noticed  that  a  building  ordinance  was 
to  be  introduced  in  the  Council.  She  wondered 
if  something  regarding  tenements  could  go  into 
that  ordinance.  She  knew  the  Mayor  of  Evans- 
ville  quite  well,  and  she  put  on  her  hat  and 
coat,  called  on  the  Mayor  and  explained  her 
errand. 

''  Couldn't  we  have  something  in  that  build- 
ing ordinance  about  tenements!  "  she  con- 
cluded. 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  the  Mayor  heartily. 
*'  Now  you  go  home  and  write  out  the  sections 
and  we  will  put  them  right  in." 

Mrs.  Bacon  walked  home  rather  bewildered. 
She  was  to  write  the  sections.  How?  She  sighed 
over  this  new  and  unexpected  responsibility. 
But  being  a  practical  person  and  honestly  know- 
ing nothing  of  ordinances  applying  to  tenements, 
she  sat  the  greater  part  of  that  day  writing  let- 
ters to  persons  who  did  know  and  who  would 
be  willing  to  extend  that  knowledge.  Full  of 
confidence,  she  sent  to  New  York,  Chicago  and 
Lidianapolis  for  tenement  ordinances. 


126      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK       > 

'*  I  thought,"  she  admits  naively,  *'  that  I 
would  copy  a  section  or  two  and  send  them  to 
the  Mayor.  But  when  they  came  they  did  not 
fit  Evansville." 

To  make  them  fit  Mrs.  Bacon  sat  down  and 
worked  them  over.  Then  she  brought  the  mat- 
ter before  the  Monday  Night  Club,  which  was 
composed  of  representatives  from  various  chari- 
table and  philanthropic  enterprises.  Among 
others  was  a  lawyer  and  he  went  over  all  the 
sections.  Then  the  sections  went  to  the  Council 
and  lay  dormant  for  months.  In  the  meantime 
the  State  Conference  of  Charities  met  in  Evans- 
ville. Mrs.  Bacon  went  to  the  conference  and 
spoke  to  those  assembled  on  "  The  Homes  of 
the  Poor."  This  was  the  first  speech  on  hous- 
ing which  the  conference  had  considered.  Mrs. 
Bacon  suggested  that  what  was  needed  was  a 
State  law,  and  as  it  looked  as  if  the  city  ordi- 
nance would  never  pass,  she  determined  to  make 
the  attempt  to  get  it. 

This  meant  more  complete  investigation. 
The  Commercial  Club  and  Associated  Charities 
of  Indianapolis  were  already  at  work  on  con- 
ditions in  that  city.  Mrs.  Bacon  extended  her 
work  in  Evansville,  and  took  the  trolley  to  vari- 
ous nearby  small  towns.  To  the  cities  farther 
away  she  sent  investigators,  and  every  return 
convinced  her  that  the  conditions  in  Evansville 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  127 

were  typical.  Reports  from  Lafayette,  South 
Bend,  Richmond,  Bloomington,  Princeton,  Mun- 
cie,  Knightstown  and  Warsaw  contained  state- 
ments of  overcrowding,  dark  rooms,  insufficient 
water  supply,  lack  of  sewage,  foul  air,  filth  and 
disease.  And  no  one  was  '*  attending  to  these 
things  "  anywhere.  It  seemed  as  if  the  draft- 
ing of  a  State  law  depended  on  Mrs.  Bacon.  So 
she  sent  again  for  information,  this  time  to 
every  State  in  the  Union  and  to  Germany  and 
France.  She  read  books  on  housing.  And  with 
infinite  pains  she  drafted  a  law,  which,  she  says, 
**  was  not  only  what  the  poor  needed,  but  what 
the  public  would  stand  for  and  the  legislature 
was  likely  to  pass." 

She  took  her  bill  to  the  State  Conference  of 
Charities  and  they  indorsed  it.  Then  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Charity  Organisation  Society  took 
Mrs.  Bacon  to  the  Commercial  Club  of  Indian- 
apolis. The  Commercial  Club  had  assisted  in 
the  investigation  in  that  city  and  they  were 
heartily  in  sympathy  with  the  bill.  After  a  long 
discussion  they  heartily  indorsed  it,  and  Mrs. 
Bacon  rejoiced. 

''  Now,  if  this  is  what  you  are  looking  for, 
take  it  as  your  measure,"  she  proposed.  But 
the  Commercial  Club  protested  in  alarm. 

"  Oh,  no;  it  is  your  measure.  You  must  take 
it  to  the  legislature." 


128      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

'*  I  felt,"  said  Mrs.  Bacon,  in  telling  of  the 
incident,  "  as  if  a  brick  house  had  fallen  on  my 
head.  I  had  never  been  inside  of  a  legislature. 
I  knew  it  as  a  seething  mass  of  men.  I  was 
badly  frightened.  But  I  thought,  '  I  won't  be 
a  baby,  I'll  just  do  it.'  "  This  was  in  the  fall 
and  Mrs.  Bacon  had  three  months  to  prepare 
for  her  ordeal.  The  presidential  campaign  was 
on,  but  Mrs.  Bacon  made  up  her  mind  to  force 
slum  questions  uj^on  the  public.  She  wrote,  she 
spoke,  she  designed  and  even  drew  cartoons, 
and  she  succeeded  in  getting  a  great  deal  of 
newspaper  publicity  for  the  work.  She  wrote 
letters  to  clubs,  to  individuals,  men  and  women 
of  prominence  and  influence,  to  ministers, 
teachers,  politicians  and  to  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  members  of  the  legislature.  She  talked 
with  and  wrote  to  those  who  had  a  greater 
knowledge  of  slum  conditions  than  she.  Chief 
among  these  were  Jacob  Riis  and  Lawrence 
Veiller.  She  secured  pictures  of  old  houses  and 
of  slum  alleys,  mounted  them  on  nice  white 
cardboard,  drew  symbolic  sketches  around  the 
margins  and  had  them  all  ready  to  be  hung  in 
the  legislative  halls  when  January  came.  The 
two  long  lines  of  white  cardboard,  with  their 
pictures  attached,  she  called  "  The  State 
Wash."  The  bill  was  proposed  and  referred 
to  committee.    At  the  hearing  Mrs.  Bacon  told 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  129 

her  story.  The  committee  reported  the  bill  fa- 
vourably and  arranged  that  Mrs.  Bacon  should 
address  the  legislature.  Mrs.  Bacon  spoke  for 
fifteen  minutes. 

*'  I  felt  so  little,"  she  said.  *'  The  place 
seemed  made  for  giants."  And  then  the  bill 
came  up  for  its  second  reading  and  amend- 
ments began  to  fly  like  bullets  on  a  battle- 
field. 

The  amendments  were  referred  to  committee. 
The  committee  held  its  meetings  in  a  long 
dining-room,  with  the  chairman  seated  at 
one  end  of  the  table  and  Mrs.  Bacon  at 
the  other  explaining  the  effect  of  each  amend- 
ment. 

The  bill  dragged  from  January  to  March. 
Four  times  Mrs.  Bacon  went  to  Indianapolis 
and  stayed  a  week  every  time.  And  when  the 
final  roll  was  called,  a  very  excited  woman 
found  herself  within  the  railings  of  the  floor 
itself,  walking  up  and  down  the  aisles  with  no 
clear  consciousness  that  she  had  risen,  and  none 
that  she  was  upon  forbidden  ground.  When 
the  count  was  taken,  the  bill  had  won  by  one 
vote. 

Then  Mrs.  Bacon  counted  on  a  little  rest. 
But  as  soon  as  the  bill  was  signed  trouble  be- 
gan. Shortly  after  its  signing  the  IndianaDolis 
papers  came  out  with  staring  headlines. 


130      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

MRS.  BACON'S  BUILDING  LAW  STOPS 
FLAT  BUILDING  IN  INDIANAPOLIS 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  very  elegant  apart- 
ment house  then  in  process  of  construction  had 
a  number  of  rooms  without  windows.  As  tene- 
ments are  most  often  old  houses  remodelled, 
Mrs.  Bacon's  law  wisely  provided  against  dark 
rooms.  The  permit  for  the  elegant  house  was 
refused  and  the  owners  of  the  house  began 
a  suit  to  test  the  constitutionality  of  the  law. 
The  courts  decided  in  favour  of  the  law  and  of 
Mrs.  Bacon. 

In  the  meantime  the  city  ordinance  which  had 
lain  dormant  had  been  unearthed  and  passed. 
Upon  her  return  to  Evansville,  Mrs.  Bacon 
found  that  she  had  both  a  State  and  city  law 
to  assist  her  in  rebuilding  her  own  city.  But 
even  then,  as  before,  it  was  "  nobody's  busi- 
ness." Evidently  more  than  a  law  was  needed. 
Mrs.  Bacon  thought  it  over  and  then  decided 
that  to  enforce  the  law  two  direct  allies  must  be 
secured.  The  first  was  a  person  whose  business 
it  should  be  to  see  that  the  law  was  enforced; 
the  second  was  the  sjnupathy  of  the  public  to- 
wards its  enforcement.  So  she  went  again  to 
the  Council  and  asked  for  a  building  inspector. 
She  visited  every  councilman  personally  and  at- 
tended every  meeting.     And  the  building  in- 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  131 

spector  was  appointed.  The  second  ally  was 
not  so  easily  secured.  But  Mrs.  Bacon  went  to 
work  to  educate  her  public  through  the  press 
and  through  lectures.  She  sent  for  Jacob  Riis, 
and  he  lectured  not  only  in  Evansville  but  in 
Indianapolis,  Terre  Haute  and  South  Bend. 
For  these  lectures  she  had  lantern  slides  made 
from  the  ''  State  Wash."  To  make  these  at- 
tractive she  coloured  them  herself.  And  under 
the  stimulus  of  this  work  Evansville  began  to 
clean  up.  A  number  of  landlords  whitewashed 
and  painted  and  made  small  improvements.  A 
number  of  dilapidated  tenements  actually  came 
down.  A  few  good  tenements  went  up.  One 
of  these  was  named  "  The  Albion,"  in  honour 
of  Mrs.  Bacon.  And  after  the  appointment  of 
the  building  inspector  no  buildings  went  up 
which  did  not  comply  with  the  wise  provisions 
of  Mrs.  Bacon's  law.  Every  building  left  a  por- 
tion of  its  lot  vacant  for  light  and  air;  every 
building  had  a  rear  yard  and  no  rear  tenement ; 
every  room  had  a  window ;  every  grown  person 
had  at  least  four  hundred  cubic  feet  of  air  and 
every  child  two  hundred — a  provision  intended 
to  prevent  fifty  persons  from  occupying  a  house 
designed  for  ten.  The  new  buildings  had  drain- 
age and  sinks  and  other  necessary  adjuncts  to 
cleanliness,  as  provided.  But  Mrs.  Bacon  was 
not  satisfied.    The  law  as  passed  affected  only 


132      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

cities  of  the  first  clasps.  Evansville  and  Indian- 
apolis were  the  only  first-class  cities  in  the  en- 
tire State.  At  the  next  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture she  and  the  citizens  who  were  with  her, 
including  a  representation  from  the  architects 
of  the  State,  worked  to  extend  the  law  to  all 
the  cities  of  the  State. 

''It  is  just  like  putting  large  shoes  on  a 
baby,"  urged  Mrs.  Bacon,  "  the  feet  will  soon 
grow  into  them. ' ' 

Then  followed  a  long  and  bitter  struggle,  last- 
ing the  entire  session.  Slum  owners  packed  the 
corridors,  and  a  vicious  lobby  worked  persist- 
ently to  defeat  the  bill.  It  passed  the  House 
triumphantly,  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote. 
But  the  Senate  held  back  its  final  readings  until 
the  last  night  of  its  session,  and  then,  after  a 
brave  fight,  that  resulted  in  victory,  that  victory 
was  wrested  away  by  the  change  of  one  vote. 
It  was  a  bitter  defeat. 

There  were  two  years  before  the  next  session 
of  the  legislature  met.  During  that  time  public 
sentiment  in  favour  of  housing  reform  laws 
grew  apace  in  Indiana,  and  Mrs.  Bacon  "  sat  up 
at  night  and  watered  it  to  make  it  grow."  The 
State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  organised 
a  Committee  on  Housing  and  made  Mrs.  Bacon 
Chairman.  The  Indiana  Housing  Association 
was  organised  and  made  her  its  Secretary. 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  133 

She  went  then  to  the  political  leaders,  and 
when  the  bill  came  up  to  the  legislature  the 
leaders  were  with  her  to  a  man.  Even  then  the 
slum  owners  were  so  busy  and  came  in  such 
numbers  that  it  took  another  long  hard  fight 
to  win  the  law — but  the  fight  was  won  and  the 
bill  passed,  a  law  for  the  one  hundred  cities  of 
the  State. 

As  soon  as  the  first  law  was  safely  through 
the  legislature,  and  its  constitutionality  de- 
clared by  the  courts,  Mrs.  Bacon  started  for  a 
rest.  She  took  her  older  daughter  and  went  East 
to  the  Summer  Chautauqua  and  prepared  to  re- 
cuperate by  taking  a  course  of  studies  in  song 
writing.  For  Mrs.  Bacon,  before  she  began  the 
serious  business  of  lawmaking,  was  valued  by 
her  family  and  friends  as  a  talented  and  enter- 
taining person.  She  has  published  one  book  of 
poetry;  and  many  of  her  verses  are  found  in 
the  current  magazines.  She  has  composed  a 
number  of  songs,  but  finding  that  she  did  not 
understand  music  well  enough  to  write  them  all, 
she  went  to  Chautauqua.  She  draws  well,  paints 
well  and  often  supplies  illustrations  for  her 
poems.  Her  songs  are  the  delight  of  her 
friends,  and  of  her  children.  And  then  she  is, 
as  she  says,  "  very  domestic." 

"  Any  woman  who  is  the  mother  of  twins," 
she  remarks  sagely,  **  is  bound  to  be  domestic." 


134      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

And  when  her  neighbours  inquire  how  she  finds 
time  for  all  her  activities,  she  replies  per- 
tinently : 

*  *  Well,  I  do  not  play  bridge  and  I  seldom  go 
to  matinees." 

But  Mrs.  Bacon  has  her  strongest  ally  toward 
time-saving  in  the  helpfulness  of  her  children. 
The  children  understand  very  well  just  what 
their  mother  is  doing.  There  are  but  three  now, 
and  the  three  have  been  with  their  mother  in 
all  of  her  visits  and  in  all  of  her  investigations 
when  it  was  possible  to  take  them.  Mrs.  Bacon 
believes  firmly  in  training  children  to  citizen- 
ship. She  does  not  believe  in  sheltering  them 
from  a  knowledge  of  conditions,  but  in  keeping 
them  informed  as  to  conditions  and  showing 
that  through  their  work  and  interest  such  evils 
as  they  meet  may  be  made  to  disappear. 
One  night,  when  the  tmns  were  quite  small, 
Mrs.  Bacon  gave  them  a  little  talk  upon  the 
things  a  good  citizen  must  do.  She  told 
them  how  selfish  it  was  to  sit  in  one's  com- 
fortable home  and  not  think  of  the  others 
whose  homes  are  far  from  comfortable.  The 
children  liked  it  immensely,  and  when  she 
had  finished  Joy  turned  to  her  mother 
quickly. 

"  Why,  mother,"  she  said  happily,  *'  that's 
what  you  are,  isn't  it — a  good  citizen?  " 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  135 

Decidedly  Mrs.  Bacon's  work  is  domestic  in 
the  finest  and  sweetest  sense  of  the  word. 
When  she  goes  from  her  home  she  carries  with 
her,  not  only  the  fruits  of  her  own  hours  of 
study  with  which  to  move  and  impress  those 
to  whom  she  carries  her  message,  but  every  lov- 
ing help  that  every  member  of  her  family  has 
been  able  to  give  to  her. 

The  successful  passage  of  the  first  law  made 
Mrs.  Bacon  known  throughout  the  State.  By 
the  time  the  second  had  passed  she  was  a  recog- 
nised '  *  housing  expert ' '  and  cities  all  over  the 
country  were  asking  her  to  come  and  help  them. 
When  a  call  came  she  answered  it,  giving  freely 
advice  and  suggestions;  but  she  cannot  conduct 
campaigns  for  other  States,  as  she  is  needed  to 
supervise  the  enforcing  of  the  law  at  home.  The 
glory  of  passing  laws  seems  an  empty  one  while 
the  tenements  still  exist. 

"  For  years,"  she  says,  ''  there  will  be  need 
of  a  voluntary  association  to  look  after  the  hous- 
ing in  every  town.  More  than  that,  the  land- 
lords need  models.  I  should  like  to  organise  a 
company  to  build  model  tenements  and  demon- 
strate that  they  can  be  built  and  run  at  a  profit 
and  still  be  decent  homes. ' ' 

**  Nobody's  business  "  has  become  her  busi- 
ness. The  building  inspector  calls  on  her  fre- 
quently and  presents  plans  for  new  buildings, 


136      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

consulting  her  upon  doubtful  points  of  interpre- 
tation. 

"  I  know  that  conditions  that  have  been  fifty 
years  in  growing  cannot  be  wiped  out  in  a  few 
years  with  the  small  force  at  our  command," 
says  Mrs.  Bacon,  "  but  when  one  feels  these 
conditions  keenly  enough  to  be  driven  into  this 
work,  it  is  so  hard  to  be  patient.  When  I  see 
the  dreadful  old  tenements  that  still  stand,  I 
feel  that  I  have  done  so  little." 

But  the  business  men  of  the  town  think  other- 
wise. *'  Evansville  is  a  changed  city,"  averred 
one.  ''  We  are  actually  beginning  to  have  a 
little  of  the  civic  pride  so  much  talked  of  and 
so  little  seen.  Before  Mrs.  Bacon's  agitation 
in  favour  of  good  tenements,  the  old  dilapidated 
houses  were  everywhere,  even  on  our  main 
street  right  between  the  most  prosperous  stores. 
In  this  short  time  every  one  of  the  old  tenements 
on  the  main  street  has  gone." 

"  Now  that  your  law  is  in  effect  will  you 
rest?  "  she  was  asked. 

"  I  cannot  rest  while  there  is  one  of  those 
miserable  '  homes  '  left,"  she  answered.  ''  I 
cannot  rest  while  little  children  live  in  such 
places.  But  if  it  were  for  no  other  reason  than 
for  the  good  of  my  children,  I  should  have  to 
go  on.  The  town  must  be  safe  for  them  and  for 
all  other  children  as  well — that  is  the  duty  of  a 


ALBION  FELLOWS  BACON  137 

good  citizen.  And  I  must  train  them  to  be  good 
citizens.  But  there  is  a  reward  in  the  work 
itself  which  ought  to  recommend  it  to  any 
woman.  At  my  age  so  many  women  find  life 
closing.  The  children  are  almost  grown,  and 
there  are  many  hours  of  idleness — hours  which 
were  once  full  to  overflowing.  Old  age  seems 
imminent  with  nothing  more  interesting  than 
a  secondary  interest  in  life,  through  the  chil- 
dren. I  feel  that  I  am  on  the  threshold  of  life. 
The  interest  of  the  work  is  vital,  and  the  work 
itself  is  worth  while.  Every  day  brings  a  new 
outlook  and  a  fresh  fund  of  enthusiasm,  and 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  old  age  visible  upon 
the  horizon." 

There  is  nothing  of  the  martyr  in  Mrs.  Bacon. 
Long  days  of  hard  work,  long,  sleepless  nights, 
the  strain  and  fatigue  of  a  legislative  session 
in  behalf  of  those  who  were  "  nobody's  busi- 
ness,"— all  these  are  more  than  outweighed  by 
her  reward,  the  gain  in  life  itself.  If  the  people 
who  were  nobody's  business  held  it  in  their 
power  to  recompense  their  deliverer  her  request 
would  be : 

''  Help  me  to  go  on." 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF 


How  important  is  a  hog?  That  is  the  question 
with  which  Mrs.  Frederic  Schoff  startled  the 
National  Government.  The  Government  is  in- 
terested in  hogs.  It  maintains  a  department  in 
which  experts  experiment  and  labour,  and  send 
out  information  to  farmers  throughout  the  land 
upon  the  feeding,  the  raising  and  the  diseases 
of  hogs.  Mrs.  Schoif  thoroughly  approves  of 
that  department — only 

"  Why,"  she  asked,  "  does  the  Government 
think  it  worth  while  to  maintain  a  department 
to  train  farmers  in  the  care  of  hogs,  and  not 
even  consider  the  subject  of  training  parents 
to  care  for  their  children?  "  How  important  is 
a  hog? 

The  National  Government  is  subjected  to  a 
good  many  inquiries,  but  it  turned  a  listening 
ear  to  that  of  Mrs.  Schoff.  The  relative  impor- 
tance of  hogs  and  children  is  a  matter  of  mo- 
ment, and  Mrs.  Schoff  is  not  alone  in  asking 
the  question.  With  her  are  one  hundred  thou- 
sand American  mothers,  eager  to  hear  the  an- 
swer. 

141 


142      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

For  ten  years  Mrs.  Schoff  has  been  their 
leader  as  president  of  the  largest  band  of  organ- 
ised mothers  the  world  has  yet  known. 

Mrs.  Schoff's  personal  experience  has  fitted 
her  for  this  leadership.  She  is  the  mother  of 
seven  children.  All  of  the  seven  are  healthy, 
happy,  useful  citizens,  and  the  grandchildren, 
who  now  complete  the  family  circle,  give  every 
evidence  of  making  a  similar  record. 

Four  sons  and  three  daughters  make  a  busy 
household.  Mrs.  Schoff  had  not  had  time  even 
to  think  of  a  public  career,  up  to  a  certain  morn- 
ing in  May,  1899,  when  she  picked  up  the  morn- 
ing paper  and  settled  herself  in  the  library  of 
her  comfortable  home  in  Philadelphia  to  read. 
Upon  the  first  page,  surmounted  by  staring 
headlines,  there  appeared  the  story  of  a  fire,  a 
fire  started  by  a  little  girl  of  eight  years  who 
had  succeeded  in  burning  down  the  house  in 
which  she  lived.  The  fire  had  been  started  de- 
liberately; the  girl  herself  admitted  the  fact. 
When  arrested  and  brought  before  the  presiding 
judge,  she  stated  readily  that  she  had  started 
the  fire. 

* '  I  did  it  to  see  the  fire  burn  and  the  engines 
run !  ' '  she  said. 

The  reporters'  investigation  of  the  child's  his- 
tory revealed  that  she  had  been  left  orphaned 
when  two  years  old,  and  placed  in  a  '^  Home." 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  143 

Recently  she  had  been  sent  from  the  "  Home  " 
to  become  a  helper  and  general  household 
drudge  in  a  city  boarding  house,  where  her  only 
associates  were  ignorant  servants.  Evidently 
one  city  editor,  at  least,  regarded  the  influences 
surrounding  her  as  of  the  best,  for  his  account 
was  surmounted  by  the  startling  headline,  "  A 
Prodigy  of  Crime." 

Philadelphia  citizens  who  read  this  were 
properly  shocked  at  the  depravity  of  one  so 
young.  Doubtless,  several  mothers  remembered 
the  diay  their  Marys  set  fire  to  the  lace  curtains, 
**  Just  for  fun,"  and  set  the  paper  aside  with 
a  sigh  of  sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  little 
waif.  And  there  the  matter  might  have  rested, 
had  it  not  happened  that  the  startling  head- 
lines were  also  read  by  Mrs.  Schoff. 

With  growing  indignation  she  followed  the 
account  of  the  ' '  crime, ' '  and  found  that  the  pre- 
siding judge  had  sent  the  little  prodigy  to  a 
reformatory.  She  put  down  the  paper  and 
looked  at  her  own  little  girls,  who  were  playing 
near.  Suppose  that  one  of  them  had  set  fire  to 
the  house,  '*  to  see  the  fire  burn  and  the  en- 
gines run."  What  was  to  become  of  this  child, 
to  be  associated  with  companions  whose  ways 
had  been  proved  evil  ?  Mrs.  Schoff  decided  that 
the  judge  who  had  passed  such  a  sentence  ought 
to  be  remonstrated  with. 


144      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

She  called  in  person  to  plead  the  child's 
cause. 

''  But,"  remonstrated  the  bewildered  judge, 
"  what  am  I  to  do  with  her?  I  have  no  other 
place  to  send  her,  and  to  tell  the  truth  they  do 
not  even  want  her  there,  because  of  the  serious 
nature  of  the  offence!  " 

Friendless,  arrested,  tried  in  the  criminal 
court,  and  sentenced  to  the  House  of  Refuge, 
and  only  eight  years  old!  Mrs.  Schoff  went 
home  determined  to  know  more  of  the  law  that 
branded  children  of  tender  years  as  criminals 
and  sent  them  to  reformatories,  and  still  more 
determined  to  rescue  that  little  girl.  On  the 
morrow  she  began  an  investigation  of  the  local 
conditions. 

At  that  time,  Pennsylvania  had  two  reforma- 
tories, one  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  and 
one  in  the  eastern.  In  addition,  there  was  a 
reformatory  for  boys  over  fifteen  years  of  age 
at  Huntington.  Excluding  this,  Mrs.  Schoff 
found  sixteen  hundred  children  in  the  two  re- 
formatories, and  these  included  waifs,  homeless 
little  ones,  and  children  accused  of  the  most 
serious  crimes.  Any  magistrate  could  commit 
a  child  to  a  reformatory  upon  the  parents'  state- 
ment of  incorrigibility.  The  child's  side  of  the 
case  was  never  heard.  Men  and  women  con- 
tracting second  marriages  made  use  of  this  op- 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  145 

portunity  to  get  rid  of  their  existing  families, 
and  the  children,  innocent  and  helpless,  were 
sent  to  associate  with  boys  and  girls  of  sixteen 
and  eighteen  years  whose  records  proved  with- 
out a  doubt  real  guilt  and  immorality. 

Children  were  tried  in  the  criminal  courts, 
kept  waiting  in  the  cages  for  criminals  which 
also  housed  men  and  women  steeped  in  crime. 
Every  day  they  received  lessons  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. There  were  five  hundred  children  rang- 
ing in  age  from  six  to  sixteen  years  in  the 
Philadelphia  County  prison,  and  children  in 
every  county  prison  throughout  the  State. 
There  were  two  to  three  hundred  children  pass- 
ing through  the  city  station  houses  every  month. 
These  were  sent  to  prison  or  freed  according  to 
the  will  of  the  presiding  judge,  who  was  crowded 
with  cases,  and  possessed  no  accurate  informa- 
tion which  might  enable  him  to  judge  wisely. 
Altogether,  there  were  over  three  thousand 
children  accused  of  delinquency,  among  whom, 
doubtless,  were  many  whose  '^  crimes  "  con- 
sisted of  a  curiosity  similar  to  that  which  longed 
to  "  see  the  fire  bum  and  the  engines  run." 

Getting  the  little  prodigy  of  crime  out  of  a 
reformatory  was  a  small  portion  of  the  task 
which  now  confronted  Mrs.  Schoff.  If  one  little 
girl  had  been  thus  condemned,  doubtless  there 
were  hundreds  of  others  in  similar  position. 


146      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Mrs.  Schoff  looked  over  the  results  of  her  in- 
vestigation and  knew  that  she  could  not  do  this 
work  alone.  She  took  her  facts  and  presented 
them  to  the  New  Century  Club  of  Philadelphia, 
of  which  she  is  a  member. 

Now  the  New  Century  Club  of  Philadelphia 
is  a  woman's  club,  and  one  of  the  most  conserva- 
tive clubs  known.  In  1899  it  was  a  social  and 
not  a  civic  club,  and  it  did  not  care  to  concern 
itself  with  things  outside  its  own  particular  in- 
terests. When  Mrs.  Schoff  presented  her  facts, 
the  club  was  shocked — genuinely  and  sincerely 
shocked,  at  the  condition  of  affairs — but  the 
New  Century  Club  had  never  handled  shocking 
matters,  and  had  gone  on  very  comfortably  in  its 
own  prescribed  path.  Mrs.  Schoff,  having  pre- 
sented her  facts,  waited.  The  wisdom  of  her 
waiting  was  shown  when  in  October  she  was  in- 
vited to  form  a  committee  to  pursue  the  investi- 
gations, and  to  take  such  action  as  was  deemed 
advisable.  A  committee  was  formed  which 
agreed  to  act  in  conjunction  with  a  similar  com- 
mittee from  the  Pennsylvania  Congress  of 
Mothers.  Some  of  the  women,  with  the  horror 
of  the  tales  ringing  in  their  ears,  wanted  to 
proceed  at  once  upon  a  political  campaign,  but 
Mrs.  Schoff  remonstrated. 

"  We  do  not  know  enough,"  she  urged.  The 
committee  looked  at  the  awful  statistics  of  the 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  147 

numbers  of  children  in  reformatories  and  pris- 
ons and  wondered.    Mrs.  Schoff  went  on : 

*'  We  know  that  this  is  all  wrong,  but  how 
can  we  make  it  right?  " 

Eager  as  the  women  were  to  rescue  the  un- 
fortunate children,  whose  stories  had  touched 
them,  the  truth  of  the  remonstrance  was  obvi- 
ous, and  they  yielded.  Then  followed  a  remark- 
able winter.  This  committee  of  women,  hardly 
one  of  whom  had  any  experience  with  public 
work,  set  about  making  themselves  familiar 
with  the  methods  of  dealing  with  helpless,  de- 
pendent and  delinquent  children  throughout  the 
nation.  The  Philadelphia  Bar  Association 
threw  open  its  library,  and  Mrs.  Schoff  and  her 
associates  pored  over  the  great  volumes.  As 
they  found  the  final  law  in  every  State,  they 
copied  it,  until  finally  a  typewritten  copy  of 
^every  law  of  every  State  was  ready  for  publica- 
tion. It  made  a  book  of  four  hundred  pages. 
According  to  the  judgment  of  the  committee, 
Massachusetts,  Michigan  and  Illinois  had  the 
best  records,  so  Mrs.  Schoff  packed  her  trunk, 
kissed  her  own  children  and  went  to  visit  Massa- 
chusetts, Michigan  and  Illinois.  Illinois,  which 
had  just  introduced  a  juvenile  court  and  proba- 
tion system,  made  a  profound  impression.  She 
returned  to  Philadelphia,  deciding  that  the  com- 
mittee knew  enough  to  begin  to  work. 


148      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

She  went  personally  to  the  Governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  to  various  political  leaders.  These 
gentlemen  appeared  shocked  and  interested. 
They  asked  numerous  questions  and  Mrs.  Schoff 
met  them  at  every  turn.  Finally  they  all  prom- 
ised hearty  support,  and  with  this  encourage- 
ment, she  employed  a  lawyer  to  draft  two  bills 
similar  to  those  in  Illinois.  These  bills  pro- 
vided : 

1.  Separate  time  and  place  for  trial  of  chil- 
dren's cases,  and  no  detention  of  children  in 
police  stations. 

2.  Probation  officers,  whose  salaries  were  not 
to  be  paid  from  the  public  treasury,  but  who 
were  appointed  by  the  judge. 

3.  A  house  of  detention  in  all  cities,  of  the 
first  and  second  class,  for  children  awaiting 
trial. 

4.  Boards  of  visitors  for  all  institutions,  to 
be  composed  of  men  and  women. 

Nobody  paid  much  attention  to  the  bills,  prob- 
ably doubting  the  influence  of  their  backers. 
When  a  possibility  of  their  passage  was  sho^vn 
there  rose  a  storm  of  opposition.  The  man- 
agers of  the  Eastern  House  of  Eefuge  and  other 
agencies  organised  ostensibly  for  the  protec- 
tion of  children  began  a  war  against  the  bills. 
In  these  agencies,  as  in  many  ''  homes  "  and 
institutions  for  the  care  of  children,  the  appro- 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  149 

priations  depended  upon  the  number  of  chil- 
dren— the  more  children,  the  better.  Under 
such  conditions  children,  good  or  bad,  are  likely 
to  remain  in  institutions,  else  how  are  the  man- 
agers and  matrons  to  make  a  living?  Naturally 
the  open  arguments  of  these  office-holders  took 
a  more  subtle  form. 

The  press  of  the  State  had  been  intelligently 
interested  in  the  proposed  laws  and  gave  valua- 
ble aid.  Pamphlets  prepared  by  Mrs.  Schotf 
and  her  fellow-workers  were  sent  to  every  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature  and  Mrs.  Schoff  was  given 
several  hearings. 

In  May,  1901,  the  bills  passed.  They  provided 
that  no  child  in  Pennsylvania  could  be  tried  in 
criminal  courts,  that  probation  officers  should 
be  appointed,  that  detention  houses  for  children 
awaiting  hearing  or  trial  should  be  provided, 
and  that  no  magistrate  could  commit  children 
to  reform  schools,  but  that  such  commitment 
must  be  through  a  Juvenile  Court. 

The  first  Juvenile  Court  in  Pennsylvania  was 
held  in  Philadelphia,  June  14, 1901.  Mrs.  Schoff 
was  there,  and  with  her  two  probation  officers, 
who  had  their  salaries  guaranteed  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania Congress  of  Mothers.  The  work  under 
the  new  laws  started.  The  enemies  of  the  bills 
immediately  began  a  suit  against  the  constitu- 
tionality of  the  laws,  a  suit  which  pended  for 


150      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

two  years.  In  those  two  years  Mrs.  Schoff  at- 
tended every  session  of  the  court,  met  the  pro- 
bation officers  every  week  and  went  over  every 
case.  She  secured  the  best  legal  talent  and 
had  a  new  set  of  laws  drawn.  Before  the  old 
laws  were  declared  unconstitutional,  the  new 
laws  were  passed,  but  only  after  a  battle  royal. 
The  appeal  against  their  constitutionality  was 
carried  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  the  two  years' 
results  had  demonstrated  unquestionably  the 
worth  of  the  measures.  The  Supreme  Court 
declared  the  laws  constitutional  and  they  still 
stand. 

Then  Mrs.  Schoff  found  a  new  task  awaiting 
her.  Philadelphia  has  a  peculiar  judicial  sys- 
tem— the  judges  rotate.  They  sit  awhile  in  one 
court  and  then  move  to  another,  and  so  on  until 
they  have  made  the  rounds.  Consequently,  the 
new  children's  court  was  presided  over  by  some 
fifteen  judges,  coming  one  after  another,  each 
one  quite  unacquainted  with  the  lads  and  lassies 
arraigned  before  him.  One  of  the  offenders 
might  have  been  a  regular,  appearing  every 
other  month,  yet  a  particular  judge  might  never 
have  seen  him.  Another  occasional  offender 
might  have  appeared  before  this  same  judge  a 
twelvemonth  ago,  and  never  have  transgressed 
since.  Yet  the  judge,  remembering  his  appear- 
ance at  the  last  sitting,  naturally  concluded  him 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  151 

a  desperate  character.  It  was  obvious  that 
someone  must  attend  court  regularly  and  be- 
come familiar  with  every  small  offender,  his 
surroundings  and  history.  That  someone  was 
Mrs.  Schoff.  For  eight  years  she  rarely  missed 
a  court  morning.  Probation  officers  came  and 
went,  judges  succeeded  each  other,  but  Mrs. 
Schoff  remained.  For  eight  years  she  met  the 
probation  officers  each  week  and  went  over 
every  case.  Only  when  the  probation  officers 
were  established,  so  that  their  knowledge  of  the 
work  was  sufficient  to  carry  it  on,  did  Mrs. 
Schoff  cease  attending  court. 

There  were  six  hundred  children  in  Moya- 
mensing  prison  in  1900.  To-day  there  is  not 
one.  There  were  three  hundred  children  pass- 
ing through  the  station  houses,  in  Philadelphia 
alone,  in  that  same  year.  To-day  there  are  but 
one-half  that  number  arrested  and  these  are 
held  in  the  House  of  Detention.  Of  fifteen  hun- 
dred cases  tried  in  the  Juvenile  Court  in  1908, 
there  were  sixty- three  where  probation  was  un- 
successful. But  the  movement  did  not  stop  in 
Philadelphia.  One  year  after  the  opening  of 
the  Juvenile  Court  in  Philadelphia,  a  similar 
court  opened  in  Pittsburg.  Now  they  extend 
through  the  State.  Nor  did  the  movement  stop 
with  the  State. 

One    year    before    the    little    "  prodigy    of 


152      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

crime  "  started  her  fire,  Mrs.  Sclioff  was  asked 
to  join  the  National  Congress  of  Mothers,  and 
to  become  an  officer  in  that  organisation.  She 
looked  at  her  own  family  and  hesitated. 

''  I  haven't  done  public  work,  I  do  not  know 
enough  about  it,"  she  said.    ''  I  haven't  time." 

'^  But  you  have  seven  children  of  your  own," 
urged  her  friends.  Mrs.  Schoff  assented  dubi- 
ously. That  was  just  it.  The  youngest  of  the 
seven  was  just  two  years  old,  and  the  oldest 
grown.  Between  the  two  were  the  other  five, 
and  Mrs.  Schoff  has  confessed  since,  that  not 
being  at  all  sure  how  they  would  all  turn  out, 
she  felt  considerable  reluctance  to  become  an 
officer  in  such  an  organisation.  However,  she 
was  at  last  persuaded  and  the  children  contin- 
ued to  flourish. 

The  first  year  of  her  membership  was  a  quiet 
one.  Then  came  the  work  for  the  Juvenile  Court. 
As  soon  as  she  was  convinced  of  the  success 
of  the  system,  Mrs.  Schoff  carried  the  idea  to 
the  Congress  of  Mothers.  As  a  result,  other 
cities  and  States  began  to  ask  her  to  come  and 
speak  to  them.  The  National  Congress  of 
Mothers  made  her  first  Vice-President,  and  then 
President.  As  the  head  of  this  large  organisa- 
tion, numbering  seventy  thousand  mothers 
throughout  the  United  States,  her  influence  was 
enormous.     At    the    request    of    Connecticut, 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  153 

Louisiana  and  Idaho,  she  visited  and  assisted 
in  establishing  Juvenile  Courts  and  probation 
systems  in  those  States.  Then  she  received  a 
unique  honour.  She  was  asked  to  visit  Canada 
to  speak  on  Juvenile  Court  work.  After  mak- 
ing her  address,  she  received  an  invitation  to 
speak  upon  the  same  subject  before  the  Cana- 
dian Parliament.  Mrs.  Schoff  is  the  only 
woman  in  the  history  of  Canada  who  has  been 
thus  honoured.  Both  houses  adjourned  and  held 
a  joint  session  to  hear  her.  As  a  result,  the 
Canadian  Grovernment  sent  two  probation  of- 
ficers to  be  trained  under  her  direction,  and  to- 
day Juvenile  Court  and  probation  work  is  well 
established  in  Canada. 

Between  attending  the  sessions  of  the  Juve- 
nile Court,  attending  to  the  wants  of  her  own 
seven  children,  and  occasionally  visiting  some 
other  city  or  State,  Mrs.  Schoff  found  her  life 
a  busy  one.  Nevertheless,  she  found  time  to 
think. 

' '  Whose  was  the  fault  when  a  child  of  six  or 
seven  years  appeared  in  the  courtroom*?  "  One 
little  boy,  sad-faced  and  wet-eyed,  was  accused 
of  the  theft  of  some  lead  pipe.  The  mother, 
summoned  by  the  probation  officer,  eyed  the 
child  stolidly. 

"  I'd  be  glad  if  I  didn't  have  no  boy  at  all," 
she  said. 


154      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

A  tiny  little  ^irl  arrested  in  the  Tenderloin 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  with  a  boy  no 
older  than  herself,  presented  herself  ragged 
and  unkempt  before  the  judge.  Her  mother  did 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  come  to  court.  Her 
stepfather  was  ill.  The  child  did  not  know  the 
name  of  her  own  father.  The  door  of  the  room 
in  which  they  lived  was  never  locked;  the  girl 
might  come  and  go  at  any  hour.  And  this  boy 
and  girl  were  but  two.  Slowly  Mrs.  Schoff  real- 
ised that  the  crime  of  the  children  was  the 
crime  of  the  parents,  and  that  the  crime  of 
the  parents,  like  that  of  the  children,  was 
committed  because  they  knew  no  better.  To 
assure  herself  that  her  theory  was  just, 
she  formed  a  committee  of  five  women,  all 
of  whom  had  experience  with  juvenile  offenders, 
and  with  them  prepared  a  questionnaire  which 
was  sent  to  the  convicts  in  eight  of  the  largest 
penitentiaries  in  the  United  States.  The  re- 
plies of  the  prisoners  strengthened  her  belief 
that  parents  and  society  had  made  criminals 
through  a  mistaken  treatment  of  childish  of- 
fences. 

The  way  to  cure  children,  Mrs.  Schoff  de- 
cided, was  to  cure  parents,  and  she  set  about 
finding  a  means  to  that  end.  Now  when  Mrs. 
Schoff  entered  the  National  Congress  of  Moth- 
ers, it  was  a  purely  national  organisation,  com- 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  155 

posed  of  women  throughout  the  United  States, 
who  were  bound  only  by  large  interests.  There 
were  no  local  organisations.  The  women  of  the 
Congress  were  notable  women,  women  of  cul- 
ture, of  ideas  and  ability,  but  they  represented 
only  one  class. 

Mrs.  Schoff  wanted  to  work  for  State  and 
local  organisations,  to  get  hold  of  all  mothers, 
notable  and  obscure.  Beginning  with  her  own 
State,  she  wrote  to  the  superintendent  of  schools 
in  every  county  in  Pennsylvania,  personally, 
asking  his  co-operation  in  forming  parent- 
teachers'  associations,  in  connection  with  the 
schools  of  his  district.  Mothers'  clubs,  which 
were  flourishing  in  a  few  sections  and  languish- 
ing in  many  more,  seized  at  this  new  organisa- 
tion. Heretofore  every  mothers'  club  had  been 
a  single  sporadic  attempt  by  a  single  school. 
The  new  organisation  offered  opportunities  for 
interchange  of  speakers,  ideas  and  material. 
Its  connection  with  the  Mothers'  Congress  gave 
it  a  central  body.  New  parent-associations  were 
formed  throughout  the  State. 

The  idea  was  carried  to  other  States.  Massa- 
chusetts soon  had  three  thousand  parents  anx- 
ious for  instruction.  Texas  brought  an  equal 
number,  and  the  State  University  of  Texas  rec- 
ognised the  work  as  so  important  that  it  offered 
to  pay  for  the  expense  of  the  local  organisation. 


156      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Far  away  California  organised  with  six  thou- 
sand members. 

These  associations  represented  parents  of  all 
classes,  educated  and  uneducated,  intelligent 
and  uncouth,  but  they  were  bound  by  one  com- 
mon interest,  the  desire  to  do  something  for 
their  children.  In  schools  in  the  foreign  dis- 
tricts of  large  cities,  the  classes  organised  be- 
came a  matter  of  pride  to  the  parents.  If  there 
was  no  suitable  leader,  the  National  Congress 
of  Mothers  furnished  one. 

As  the  associations  grew,  they  applied  to  the 
National  Congress  for  material  and  informa- 
tion. In  response,  Mrs.  Schoff  wrote  to  edu- 
cators, physicians  and  specialists  upon  children, 
throughout  the  country,  asking  for  contribu- 
tions, in  the  shape  of  articles  to  be  read  at  par- 
ents' meetings.  These  articles  were  printed  as 
leaflets  and  sent  to  the  various  associations. 
This  method  of  procedure  forms  a  marked  con- 
trast to  that  of  the  usual  mothers'  club,  where 
the  women  listen  to  a  paper  arranged  by  one  of 
their  own  number,  frequently  a  method  of  pro- 
cedure which  might  be  likened  to  a  * '  blind  lead- 
ing of  the  blind." 

In  organising  and  helping  new  groups  of  par- 
ents, Mrs.  Schoff  was  tireless.  In  one  year  sh6 
visited  many  counties  in  Pennsylvania  and  thir- 
teen States  in  behalf  of  these  associations  and 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  157 

Juvenile  Court  work.  And  during  these  years 
of  organisation  and  of  study  of  varying  condi- 
tions, the  question  of  the  relative  importance 
of  hogs  and  children  forced  itself  upon  her. 

Following  this  question  came  the  idea  of  a 
Federal  Bureau,  for  the  purpose  of  informing 
parents  as  to  the  physical,  mental  and  moral 
care  of  their  children — a  department  to  be  called 
**  Home  Welfare,"  or  "  Department  of  the 
Child  and  Home."  Here  parents  could  secure 
as  adequate  information  about  the  nutrition  and 
diseases  and  education  of  their  children  as  is 
now  given  farmers  in  the  care  of  hogs.  Mrs. 
Schoff  carried  her  scheme  to  Washington. 

She  went  first  to  the  Department  of  Educa- 
tion, as  she  felt  that  the  matter  really  belonged 
there,  but  at  that  time  she  found  the  Department 
restricted  in  the  matter  of  expenditure  and  run 
on  the  supposition  that  it  was  related  to  schools 
only. 

So  there  began  another  campaign,  this  time 
to  persuade  the  Government  that  education  is 
not  confined  to  schooling.  Having  proved  by 
actual  tests  that  infant  mortality  could  be  re- 
duced seventy  per  cent,  by  education  of  mothers, 
convinced  that  juvenile  crime  was  chiefly  the 
result  of  parental  ignorance,  Mrs.  Schoif  de- 
manded that  the  Department  extend  its  work  of 
education  to  adults  in  behalf  of  the  children. 


158      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

In  1913  she  succeeded  in  having  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Education,  Dr.  P.  P.  Claxton,  estab- 
lish a  Home  Education  Division  of  the  Bureau. 
Dr.  Claxton  appointed  Mrs.  Schoff  Director  of 
the  new  division,  a  post  without  salary  but  giv- 
ing her  the  opportunity  she  longed  for,  that  of 
putting  a  part  of  the  government  at  the  service 
of  the  parents.  In  its  first  year  the  Home  Edu- 
cation Division  secured  sixteen  hundred  women 
who  pledged  themselves  to  co-operate  with  its 
efforts  in  their  communities.  In  that  one  year 
it  replied  to  inquiries  for  help  from  forty  thou- 
sand mothers!  As  the  inquiries  came,  Mrs. 
Schoff  was  able  to  classify  them  and  to  prepare 
pamphlets  containing  only  statements  author- 
ised by  experts  which  served  to  answer  certain 
groups  of  questions.  A  simple  little  leaflet  on 
the  care  of  young  babies  brought  hundreds  of 
letters  of  appreciation  from  women  who  frankly 
stated  that  it  was  their  first  opportunity  to  ob- 
tain free  advice  from  authorities  on  the  bring- 
ing up  of  children,  although  their  husbands  had 
long  enjoyed  a  like  privilege  with  regard  to 
crops  and  cattle. 

Under  Mrs.  Schoff 's  leadership  three  Inter- 
national Congresses  on  the  Welfare  of  the  Child 
have  been  held  in  Washington,  and  invitations 
to  every  nation  have  been  issued  by  the  Depart- 
ment  of    State.     Many    countries    responded, 


HANNAH  KENT  SCHOFF  159 

China  and  the  Philippine  Islands  sending  of- 
ficial invitations  to  Mrs.  Schoff  to  come  and 
establish  a  similar  work  for  children  there. 

As  President  of  the  National  Congress  of 
Mothers,  Mrs.  Schoff  receives  daily  numerous 
appeals  for  help  from  all  over  the  country. 

"  We  know  that  you  are  a  friend  of  mothers 
and  children, ' '  is  the  general  tenor  of  the  intro- 
duction to  these  letters,  and  with  this  in  extenu- 
ation of  their  appeal  they  proceed  to  ask  for 
advice  upon  almost  every  conceivable  question 
from  the  merits  of  a  particular  soothing  syrup 
to  the  most  intimate  personal  problems.  Mrs. 
Schoff  answers  every  letter  personally,  no 
matter  how  trivial  the  request.  She  confesses 
that  sometimes  the  answers  are  pitifully  inade- 
quate, for  it  would  take  a  wisdom  greater  than 
Solomon's  to  meet  them  all,  but  at  least  a  word 
of  sympathy  goes  out  to  the  petitioner. 

In  the  midst  of  her  national  interests,  Mrs, 
Schoff  never  neglects  her  home  city.  Two  sum- 
mers ago  she  visited  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Health. 

''  Dr.  Neff,"  she  said,  "  cannot  something 
be  done  to  save  the  babies  in  Philadelphia!  " 

"  Mrs.  Schoff,"  the  Chief  said,  as  he  looked 
up,  *'  I  will  start  to-morrow  if  I  can  find  people 
enough  interested  to  help  me  out.  I've  tried 
and  failed. ' ' 


160      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Mrs.  Schoff  left  the  office  and  went  to  work. 
As  a  result  The  Philadelphia  Alliance  for  the 
Care  of  Babies  was  formed  and  began  sending 
out  nurses  and  instruction.  But  the  mothers 
would  not  bring  their  babies  to  be  inspected. 
Evidently  they  dreaded  the  ordeal  more  than 
the  loss  of  the  baby. 

''  Give  prizes  for  the  best  babies,"  suggested 
Mrs.  Schoff.    And  then  the  mothers  came. 

"  We'll  make  them  good  mothers  if  they  have 
to  be  bribed, ' '  said  Mrs.  Schoff,  laughing.  And 
while  she  confesses  that  the  ethical  standard  of 
the  alliance  is  thus  under  reproach,  she  adds : 

"  But  the  babies  live!  It  takes  something 
startling  to  make  many  mothers  realise  that  in- 
stinct does  not  teach  them  to  be  good  mothers." 

The  little  "  Prodigy  of  Crime,"  who  gave^ 
Mrs.  Schoff  to  the  wider  field  of  motherhood,  is 
a  grown  woman  now.  She  never  stayed  in  the 
Reformatory,  but  was  given  a  new  trial  in  a 
real  home.  She  was  graduated  from  Normal 
School,  and  was  chosen  from  six  hundred  girls 
in  the  State  to  be  assistant  principal  of  the 
school  where  she  is  now. 

' '  And  that  is  what  people  thought  a  '  Prodigy 
of  Crime,'  "  says  Mrs.  Schoff  triumphantly. 
Then  she  adds, ' '  That  is  what  ought  to  happen ; 
it  is  just  what  I  should  want  to  happen  if  it  had 
been  my  little  girl." 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR 


FEANCES  A.  KELLOR 


''  He  taka  da  doll'  an'  got  no  teek."  The 
speaker,  a  short,  swarthy  Italian,  fixed  his  eyes 
pleadingly  upon  the  face  of  the  man  he  was 
addressing. 

''  How  many  dollars  did  you  give  him!  " 

<<  Eh?  "  The  Italian,  bewildered,  turned  to 
his  two  companions.  Volubly  they  began  to 
translate,  both  talking  at  once.  As  the  owner 
of  the  pleading  eyes  answered,  the  babble  grew 
in  intensity.  It  seemed  impossible  that  the 
young  man  who  stood  listening  should  be  able  to 
gather  anything  from  the  confusion  of  sound, 
but  he  nodded. 

"  I  see.  You  gave  him  seven  dollars  and  a 
half  for  a  ticket  and  you  got  no  ticket  and  he 
refuses  to  return  the  money." 

The  three  men  assented  vigorously,  nodding 
their  heads  and  continuing  the  babble  until 
again  interrupted. 

''  Where  do  you  live?  "  demanded  the  young 
man. 

^'  Leeve?  "  the  first  man  repeated, — "  no 
leeve,  go  'way." 

163 


164      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

"  When?  "  There  was  another  babble,  fol- 
lowed by  looks  of  despair,  as  the  young  man 
shook  his  head  ruefully. 

^'  It's  twelve  o'clock  and  you  go  at  two,"  he 
muttered.  "  Well,  sit  down.  I'll  see  Miss 
Kellor." 

Downcast  the  three  men  obeyed.  Anxiously 
they  watched  the  door  through  which  he  de- 
parted. In  a  few  minutes  he  reappeared,  strug- 
ghng  into  an  overcoat. 

''  Come  with  me,"  he  ordered.  *'  I'll  get 
your  money." 

The  three  arose  with  alacrity,  their  faces 
wreathed  in  smiles.  As  they  passed  to  the  door- 
way the  spokesman  hesitated. 

'^  Tell  Mees,"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  door 
through  which  the  young  man  had  passed. 
"  T'anks." 

Back  of  the  door  a  tall,  handsome  man,  also 
Italian,  stood  fingering  his  hat  nervously. 

"  I  know.  Lady,"  he  protested.  "  There  is 
no  use  goin'  'gainst  the  law.  I  been  in  this 
country  long  time.  I  don't  want  no  trouble, 
Lady." 

The  ^'  Lady  "  looked  at  him  sternly. 

*'  You  understand,  then,"  she  said  crisply, 
"  that  your  advertisements  are  illegal.  You  are 
not  a  banker.  You  have  no  right  to  receive,  hold 
and  transmit  money  and  you  must  stop  doing 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  165 

so  and  your  advertisements  must  stop  at 
once." 

'^  I  bring  you  the  papers  so  you  see  my  ad 
is  out,"  protested  the  culprit.  He  was  dis- 
missed by  a  nod  and  hurried  out,  muttering 
something  which  certainly  was  not ''  t'anks." 

A  persistent  jingle  of  the  telephone  claimed 
the  *'  Lady's  "  immediate  attention. 

' '  How  do  you  know  there  is  work  in  Florida 
for  these  people?  "  she  demanded.  "  The  Gov- 
ernor said  so?  Well,  don't  take  the  Gov- 
ernor's word  for  it,  but  find  out  what  the  work 
is  and  how  much  there  is  of  it  and  where  before 
you  send  a  single  man  down."  The  telephone 
was  replaced  and  a  patient  assistant  who  stood 
at  her  elbow  presented  a  paper. 

^'  How  about  the  school  in  the  lumber  camp?  " 

a  There  are  sixty  children,"  reported  the 
assistant. 

' '  Sixty  children  and  one  teacher !  They  must 
have  another  at  once  and  more  room." 

The  visitor  who  had  been  permitted  to  enter 
listened  in  bewilderment  almost  equal  to  fhat 
of  the  Italians.  A  temple  of  justice  was  this 
small  room,  where  the  defrauded  were  helped 
to  regain  their  lost  possessions,  where  the  de- 
frauder  received  his  reprimand  and  possibly 
was  sent  to  punishment ;  an  employment  bureau 
where  jobs  were  secured,  investigated  and  guar- 


166      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

anteed;    a    department    of    education    where 
teachers  were  decided  upon  and  classrooms  de- 
termined.   And  all  this  varied  and  complicated 
business  was  i)resided  over  by  a  "  Lady." 
The  sign  on  the  front  door  read 

New  York  State 

Department  of  Labour 

Bureau  of  Industries  and  Immigration 

and  on  the  inner  door 

Frances  A.  Kellor,  Chief  Investigator. 

Four  years  ago  there  was  no  Bureau  of  In- 
dustries and  Immigration.  The  ticket  seller 
held  his  seven  dollars  and  a  half  and  refused 
to  surrender  either  ticket  or  money.  The 
"  banker  "  advertised  his  house  as  a  safe  de- 
pository for  funds.  Companies  of  men  went  to 
Florida  or  to  other  places  upon  rumours  of  work 
that  was  not,  and  children  in  camps  sat  in 
crowded  classrooms  or  did  not  sit  in  classrooms 
at  all.  Yet  it  was  no  one's  business  to  see  that 
these  offences  were  corrected.  But  there  was 
Miss  Kellor.  For  many  years  she  has  been 
working  in  behalf  of  the  immigrant,  laying  the 
foundation  which  makes  her  a  fit  guardian  for 
Uncle  Sam's  new  children. 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  167 

When  she  was  but  a  university  student  she 
began  a  study  of  Southern  })risons  and  printed 
a  report  upon  her  investigations.  It  was  a  dis- 
mal topic  for  a  very  much  ahve  young  woman ; 
but  Miss  Kellor  found  it  abounding  in  interest. 
The  condition  of  the  people  in  the  prisons  led 
her  to  believe  that  there  was  something  wrong 
^^dth  the  labour  situation,  and  soon  after  her 
graduation  she  began  to  study  the  problem  of 
emplo}Tnent.  The  College  Settlement  of  New 
York  City  gave  her  a  fellowshi]!,  and  under  the 
auspices  of  the  "Woman's  Municipal  League  she 
began  an  investigation  of  employment  agencies. 
Dressed  as  an  employee  she  visited  several  em- 
ployment offices  and  endeavoured  to  become 
friendly  with  the  girls  who  sat  about  the  rooms 
waiting  for  positions.  At  first  she  was  unsuc- 
cessful as  her  difference  in  training  was  obvious, 
but  she  soon  learned  to  talk  in  up-to-date  slang 
about  supposed  mistresses  and  her  acquaintance 
flourished. 

The  flippant  greeting  of  the  office  manager, 
"  Well,  sis,  out  of  a  job?  "  which  at  first  had 
sorely  tried  her  dignity,  became  a  matter  of 
course.  When  she  looked  too  respectable  to  be 
a  ''  girl  "  in  some  of  the  cheaper  offices,  she 
became  a  mistress.  Frequently  she  did  not 
know  which  she  would  impersonate  until  the 
office  door  closed  behind  her. 


168      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

The  main  object  of  the  majority  of  offices 
seemed  to  be  to*get  as  much  money  out  of  botli 
employer  and  employee  as  was  possible.  To 
this  end  girls  who  needed  work  were  forced  to 
register  and  to  pay  in  advance  for  any  position 
obtained.  In  one  office  the  men  managers 
guarded  the  door  and  actually  prevented  any 
girl  who  had  not  paid  her  fee  from  departing. 
If  she  came  in  merely  to  inquire  terms  she  paid 
for  getting  out.  The  lodging  houses  conducted 
in  connection  with  the  offices  furnished  further 
means  of  extracting  money.  And  there  were 
graver  evils.  Sometimes  these  lodging  houses 
and  the  offices  were  located  in  houses  of  ill- 
repute  and  the  girls  stopping  over  night  sub- 
jected to  the  advances  and  even  to  the  threats 
of  the  proprietors. 

American  girls  fared  badly  enough  under  this 
system;  but  foreign  girls  were  infinitely  worse 
off.  Not  understanding  the  language  they  fre- 
quently accepted  proposals  made  to  them,  not 
understanding  their  nature,  and  then  were 
warned  that  they  had  chosen  them  "  of  their 
own  free  will."  Frequently  they  were  sent  to 
work  in  disorderly  houses  with  no  idea  of  the 
character  of  the  houses  to  which  they  were  go- 
ing. Many  offices  furnished  girls  for  such 
houses  upon  the  payment  of  an  extra  fee.  Girls 
were  sent  to  men's  clubs  and  to  the  homes  of 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  169 

bachelors  and  widowers,  without  any  investiga- 
tion as  to  the  nature  of  such  homes.  Sending  a 
foreign  girl  ignorant  of  the  language  and  uncer- 
tain as  to  where  to  turn  for  help  to  such  places 
was  practically  to  send  her  to  slavery.  There 
was  no  way  out. 

When  the  investigation  was  over  Miss  Kellor 
compiled  the  results  of  her  own  investigations 
with  those  of  eight  other  investigators  and  pub- 
lished them  in  book  form.  The  book  was  en- 
titled "  Out  of  Work."  It  was  the  first  investi- 
gation of  its  kind  that  was  general  enough  and 
systematic  enough  to  be  worth  anything  to  the 
general  public.  It  proved  conclusively  that 
girls,  especially  foreign  girls,  were  made  a  part 
of  a  deliberate  system  of  exploitation,  and  this 
not  in  single  cases  but  in  hundreds.  ^'  Out  of 
Work  "  had  a  profound  effect  upon  people  in 
New  York  and  other  large  cities  where  similar 
abuses  might  be  supposed  to  exist.  Individuals 
and  societies  set  to  work  at  once  to  work  for 
some  system  of  licensing  boarding  and  lodging 
houses,  as  well  as  employment  offices,  that  would 
put  a  stop  to  the  traffic  in  immigrant  girls. 

Associations  in  New  York,  New  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania  formed  an  Inter-Municipal  Re- 
search Committee  with  which  Miss  Kellor 
worked  for  four  years,  planning  and  superin- 
tending investigations  in  the  cities  named  and 


170      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

endeavouring  to  standardise  similar  investiga- 
tions throughout  the  country.  As  the  investi- 
gations showed  plainly  the  need  for  legislation, 
the  Committee  planned  and  worked  for  laws 
that  would  remedy  conditions.  When  there  was 
need  Miss  Kellor  plunged  into  a  political  cam- 
paign to  help  elect  some  candidate  who  would 
assist  in  getting  the  laws  through.  Standing  in 
an  automobile,  she  conducted  street  meetings 
in  behalf  of  the  man  who  was  to  help  girls  out 
of  employment.  The  result  of  her  efforts  in 
New  York  City  was  the  improved  law  of  1906 
in  relation  to  employment  agencies.  The  law 
provided  for  inspectors  to  see  that  it  was  en- 
forced, and  although  it  has  not  completely  erad- 
icated the  evils  that  existed,  it  has  mitigated 
them.  Its  enforcement  through  the  visits  of  in- 
spectors has  considerably  reduced  the  number 
of  undesirable  agencies  by  revoking  their  li- 
censes, and  although  a  number  of  agencies  which 
are  unlicensed  practise  secretly,  they  are  un- 
able to  advertise  and  attract  girls  as  they  did 
formerly. 

After  the  Probation  Commission  to  which 
Governor  Higgins  appointed  Miss  Kellor  a 
member  had  finished  its  work  and  had  been 
succeeded  by  a  permanent  commission.  Gov- 
ernor Hughes  made  her  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mission on  Immigration.    The  members  of  the 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  171 

Commission  made  Miss  Kellor  their  Secretary. 
The  Commission  was  appointed  in  1908,  and 
their  report  was  transmitted  to  the  legislature 
in  1909.  It  contained  a  recommendation  for  the 
Bureau  of  Industries  and  Immigration,  of  which 
Miss  Kellor  became  the  head. 

New  York  is  the  gateway  through  which 
three-fourths  of  the  immigrants  reach  this 
country.  In  1910  five  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  seventeen  persons  were 
landed  at  Ellis  Island,  accepted  by  the  authori- 
ties and  deposited  by  the  Government  tug  at  the 
landing  at  Battery  Place.  Between  Battery 
Place  and  the  surface,  elevated  and  subway  lines 
there  is  a  distance  of  several  rods.  Hardly  have 
the  men  and  women  shouldered  their  bundles, 
gazing  in  bewilderment  at  the  strange  city,  when 
from  Battery  Place  and  the  surrounding  streets 
there  swoop  down  upon  them,  like  a  flock  of 
hawks,  hotel  runners,  cabbies  and  confidence 
men.  They  seize  the  immigrant's  baggage,  talk 
volubly  to  him,  guarantee  to  take  him  to  his 
destination  or  a  good  hotel,  to  sell  him  an  ele- 
vated ticket,  to  do  anything  that  will  secure  a 
dollar's  profit.  The  bewildered  immigrant  suc- 
cumbs. He  listens  to  the  man  who  promises  so 
kindly  to  help  him  and  cheerfully  pays  a  dollar 
or  two,  or  even  five,  for  a  five-cent  elevated  or 
subway  ticket. 


172      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

As  soon  as  the  Bureau  of  Industries  and  Im- 
migration was  established  Miss  Kellor  began  an 
attempt  to  stop  such  fleecing.  With  the  aid  of 
interpreters  she  provided  for  the  Italian,  Polish, 
German,  Yiddish,  French  and  Hungarian  press 
an  announcement  of  the  work  of  the  Bureau. 
The  American  papers  published  in  these  lan- 
guages gladly  printed  the  notices.  Then  she 
sent  a  similar  notice  to  a  number  of  foreign 
papers  intended  to  reach  the  people  before  they 
embarked.  This  notice  was  printed  and  re- 
printed in  fifty-seven  different  dialects.  The 
direct  result  was  that  the  Bureau  was  besieged 
with  applicants  who  had  in  one  way  or  another 
been  exploited. 

The  men  and  women  who  brought  their  griev- 
ances to  her  proved  the  need  of  some  court  of 
appeal.  Not  only  the  incoming  but  the  outgo- 
ing immigrant  was  represented.  Having  saved 
a  little  money,  the  immigrant  desires  to  return 
to  bring  his  family,  to  visit  or  to  stay  at  home. 
In  the  town  in  which  he  works  he  purchases  a 
ticket  and  pays  for  hotel  accommodations  to  a 
man  who  solicits  his  patronage,  a  ''  runner." 
He  is  given  a  button  to  identify  him  in  New 
York.  On  the  train  is  a  runner  for  another 
hotel.  He  contrives  that  the  immigrant  shall 
lose  the  button  and  carries  him  off  to  his  own 
hotel.     The  first  hotel  refuses  to  refund  the 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  173 

money  paid  for  accommodations.  In  a  hundred 
diiferent  ways  he  is  bled  of  dollar  after  dollar. 
Sometimes  he  never  finds  it  out. 

For  this  transportation  situation,  Miss  Kellor 
found  remedies.  Upon  her  findings  she  induced 
one  railway  line  running  out  of  New  York  to 
completely  reorganise  its  system  of  distribu- 
tion of  immigrants.  A  number  of  transfer  com- 
panies have  stopped  their  agents  from  making 
overcharges  upon  baggage.  A  set  of  regulations 
for  runners  from  emigrant  hotels  has  been 
adopted.  Under  these  regulations  runners  from 
hotels  doing  a  legitimate  business  are  admitted 
to  the  docks  where  the  immigrants  land.  Upon 
proof  of  any  violation  of  the  regulations  the 
passes  for  runners  are  revoked.  The  Board  of 
Health  has  visited  fifty-four  lodging  houses  and 
has  drawn  up  a  new  set  of  regulations  for  these 
houses  as  a  result. 

The  immigrant  who  begins  to  work  begins  to 
save  money,  usually  to  bring  his  family  over  to 
him.  This  money  he  deposits  in  a  bank.  When 
he  sends  money  abroad  it  is  usually  through 
this  same  bank,  for  he  does  not  understand 
enough  English  to  fill  out  the  complicated  blank 
necessary  to  obtain  a  mail  order.  For  the  same 
reason  he  seeks  a  bank  conducted  by  someone 
who  speaks  his  language.  The  foreign  papers 
are  full  of  advertisements   of  private  banks 


174      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

whose  sole  business  is  this  with  immigrants. 
In  many  cases  these  banks  have  no  legal  right 
to  exist.  An  individual  starts  a  ' '  bank  ' '  with- 
out pass  books  or  receipts,  accepts  money  and 
disappears. 

Miss  Kellor  made  it  a  part  of  her  office  work 
to  examine  these  advertisements  in  foreign 
newspapers,  to  look  up  these  ''  banks  "  and  find 
out  whether  they  were  incorporated  and  bonded 
and  to  what  extent  they  were  liable  to  their 
depositors.  Since  her  term  as  Chief  Investi- 
gator many  "  banks  "  have  gone  out  of  ex- 
istence. 

To  handle  individual  cases  of  abuse  in  trans- 
portation, banking  or  other  things  Miss  Kellor 
established  what  she  called  a  Bureau  of  Adjust- 
ment. The  Bureau  acted  as  a  mediator  to 
bring  aggrieved  parties  together  and  to  induce 
a  settlement.  It  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  the  alien,  since  it  relieved  him  of  the  neces- 
sity of  going  to  law  to  recover  his  property. 
Because  of  his  inability  to  pay,  the  immigrant 
cannot  go  to  a  good  lawyer  and  readily  falls 
into  the  hands  of  shysters,  who  promise  to  col- 
lect nothing  unless  successful. 

Many  of  the  incidents  are  so  trivial  that  the 
time  of  the  court  is  wasted,  and  no  court  has  the 
time  nor  patience  to  unravel  the  story  of  the 
immigrant  interwoven  as  it  is  with  international 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  175 

complication,  feuds  and  personal  hatred.  But 
Miss  Kellor  had.  With  the  utmost  patience  she 
unravelled  the  threads  of  this  tangled  skein  and 
found  the  truth.  She  had  to  move  quickly,  for 
the  alien  is  a  transient  and  three-fourths  of  the 
frauds  committed  are  made  in  the  belief  that  he 
will  not  have  time  to  prosecute.  Fortunately 
Miss  Kellor  is  a  graduate  of  a  law  school  and 
possesses  the  legal  knowledge  required  to  han- 
dle many  of  her  cases.  In  her  first  year  in  office 
she  received  and  adjusted  thirty-nine  complaints 
against  banks,  four  against  collection  agencies, 
thirty  against  steamship  companies,  thirty-one 
against  employment  agencies,  nine  of  accidents, 
one  against  a  benefit  society,  four  on  child  la- 
bour, three  on  contract  labour,  six  on  deporta- 
tion, six  on  domestic  relations,  thirty-six  against 
immigrant  hotels,  six  against  emigrant  societies, 
four  against  lawyers,  fifty-nine  against  notaries 
and  two  against  labour  camps.  This  indicates  a 
busy  year  for  the  Bureau  of  Adjustment.  But 
Miss  Kellor  has  done  more  than  adjust  individual 
cases.  Realising  that  to  help  one  man  at  a  time 
is  a  slow  method  of  accomplishing  anything  in 
a  situation  that  affects  hundreds  of  thousands, 
she  selected  a  group  of  fifty  newspapers  repre- 
senting all  nationalities,  persuaded  them  to  act 
with  her  and  furnished  them  with  the  full  facts 
regarding  every  case  of  exploitation  or  fraud 


176      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

that  was  likely  to  be  widespread.  The  papers 
printed  the  results  of  her  cases  and  reported 
fraudulent  concerns,  hotels  and  institutions. 
As  a  result  these  places  are  finding  it  increas- 
ingly difficult  to  do  business.  The  immigrant 
reads  and  is  warned  in  time. 

In  a  short  time  the  Bureau  of  Adjustment 
became  also  a  Bureau  of  Information.  Immi- 
grants who  came  for  help  brought  friends  who 
wished  to  know  how  to  learn  English ;  where  to 
stop  in  other  cities;  how  to  find  work;  how  to 
find  lost  relatives  and  friends;  the  wisest  way 
to  invest  their  earnings,  with  especial  inquiries 
as  to  the  worth  of  real  estate,  mining  stock  and 
government  lands.  The  finding  of  work  proved 
the  most  difficult  of  all  these  problems. 

In  New  York  State  a  large  number  of  aliens 
are  employed  in  quarries,  on  road  work,  in  can- 
neries, in  public  works,  camps  and  in  other  in- 
dustries where  camp  conditions  prevail.  Miss 
Kellor  located  three  hundred  and  sixteen  such 
industries.  Many  of  these  she  investigated  per- 
sonally. She  found  one  State  camp  whose 
largest  building,  twenty  by  fifty  feet,  was  set 
upon  the  edge  of  a  canal  on  swampy  ground  in 
the  midst  of  mud  so  deep  that  she  was  forced 
to  don  rubber  boots.  This  building  contained 
fifty-two  bunks  in  a  double  tier  and  had  one 
small  stove  to  heat  it  and  to  cook  upon.    Nearby 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  177 

were  shacks  set  upon  the  muddy  ground,  without 
floors  and  containing  bunks  for  two  or  more 
men.  These  had  no  windows,  having  only  holes 
covered  with  wooden  boards.  There  was  no 
bathtub.  The  muddy  water  of  the  canal  was  the 
only  available  wash  water.  Here  men  lived  for 
months,  perhaps  for  years;  and  this  camp  was 
but  one  of  many  similar  to  it,  some  being  even 
worse.  The  State  contract  provided  carefully 
and  specifically  for  the  kind  of  material  used 
in  construction  and  for  rigid  inspection  as  to 
its  quality.  It  did  not  mention  the  workmen.  In 
canneries,  quarries  and  lumber  camps  the  sit- 
uation is  complicated  by  the  presence  of  women 
and  children.  In  canneries  both  mothers  and 
fathers  are  employed,  and  the  children  wander 
about,  neglected  by  their  parents  and  the  State 
alike.  Men,  women  and  children  sleep,  live  and 
eat  in  one  small  shack.  Overcrowding,  filth  and 
squalor,  disease  and  immorality  are  the  results. 
It  has  been  impossible  in  four  short  years  to 
eradicate  such  a  situation  as  this;  but  Miss 
Kellor  has  made  great  headway.  In  the  first 
place  she  investigated  forty-nine  camps  where 
there  were  children.  Where  there  were  no 
schools,  or  where  school  facilities  were  inade- 
quate, she  wrote  to  the  State  superintendents. 
She  also  obtained  all  the  names  of  children  ad- 
mitted to  the  State  and  asked  the  superintend- 


178      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

ents  to  help  her  to  locate  them.  In  some  camps 
she  found  the  managers  very  willing  to  assist 
her.  Sometimes  the  camj)  agreed  to  provide  a 
building  if  the  State  would  supply  teachers. 
Sometimes  it  provided  vehicles  to  drive  the  chil- 
dren to  the  nearest  school.  The  matter  of  ade- 
quate accommodations  requires  legislation;  so 
she  made  a  compilation  of  all  laws  affecting 
aliens.  Many  of  the  laws  were  obsolete,  defec- 
tive, forgotten  or  inapplicable  to  present  condi- 
tions; but  they  showed  plainly  that  new  ones 
were  necessary.  She  published  these  laws  in  a 
manual  and  sent  copies  to  courts,  lawyers,  or- 
ganisations and  to  the  consuls  who  act  in  behalf 
of  their  countrymen. 

She  hoped  to  convince  them,  as  she  herself 
had  been  convinced,  that  without  revision  of 
laws,  the  work  of  an  immigration  bureau  must 
be  limited  to  assistance  of  individual  cases,  a 
never-ending  task.  So  forcibly  did  this  phase 
of  the  work  impress  her,  that  in  1913  she  re- 
signed from  the  New  York  State  Bureau  to 
assume  the  managing  directorship  of  the  Legis- 
lative Committee  of  the  North  American  Civic 
League  for  Immigrants,  a  committee  which  is 
engaged  in  investigating  the  possibilities  of 
governmental  action  in  all  matters  pertaining  to 
the  transportation,  employment,  education,  nat- 
uralisation and  standard  of  living  of  the  immi- 


FRANCES  A.  KELLOR  179 

grant,  at  the  same  time  endeavouring  to  formu- 
late a  domestic  immigration  policy. 

In  1913  Miss  Kellor  became  a  well-known  fig- 
ure in  the  daily  press  as  the  Chairman  of  the 
National  Progressive  Service  of  the  newly 
formed  Progressive  Party.  Always  an  active 
advocate  of  woman  suffrage,  she  believed  that 
the  new  political  party  offered  opportunity  for 
the  securing  of  the  ballot  as  well  as  the  reforms 
for  which  she  was  working.  The  prominence 
into  which  this  office  brought  her  name  has  over- 
shadowed her  work  on  immigration  cpiestions. 
But  it  is  not  as  a  member  of  a  political  party, 
however  worthy,  that  Miss  Kellor  has  demon- 
strated her  value.  For  years  she  has  guarded 
the  gateway  to  America,  extending  a  helping 
hand  to  those  who  would  adopt  a  new  father- 
land, endeavouring  to  see  that  the  alien  passing 
through  bears  with  him  untouched  his  material 
possessions,  and  more  important  still,  those 
high  ideals  of  justice  and  fair  treatment  which 
America  means  to  him. 


JULIA  TUTWILEB 


JULIA  TUTWILER 


**  We  painted  her  old  horse  green."  The 
young  man  who  bore  the  imposing  title  of  As- 
sistant Secretary  to  the  Birmingham  Chamber 
of  Commerce  settled  back  in  his  chair  and 
smiled  reminiscently. 

"  I  went  to  school  to  her.  Choctaw  was  the 
horse's  name.  She  had  picked  him  up  some- 
where and  kept  him,  an  old,  forlorn,  wornout 
specimen,  and  we  painted  him  from  head  to 
hoof.  Miss  Julia  felt  awfully  hurt  about  it, 
but  she  didn't  get  mad.  The  girls  in  the  school 
were  furious  and  they  got  at  him  with  linseed 
oil  and  sweet  oil  until  he  must  have  been  water- 
proofed for  life.  But  see  here,"  said  the  young 
man,  suddenly  sitting  up  straight  and  speaking 
earnestly,  "  don't  you  get  any  idea  that  be- 
cause we  played  tricks  on  her,  Miss  Julia  didn't 
amount  to  much.  Why,  I  have  seen  her  go  out 
into  the  wet  grass  and  pick  up  a  weed  and  bring 
it  into  chapel  and  hold  us  all  spellbound  for  an 
hour  talking  about  it.  She  was  a  wonderful 
teacher  and  she  is  a  great  big  woman,  the  big- 
gest the  State  has  ever  known. ' ' 

183 


184      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

From  all  over  the  State  of  Alabama  comes 
the  echo  of  that  sentiment,  ever  growing 
stronger.  From  Mobile,  from  Montgomery, 
from  Birmingham,  from  Livingston,  Dotham, 
Greene  Springs,  Speigener,  Tuscaloosa  and  a 
score  of  other  towns  which  have  felt  the  direct 
influence  of  her  personality  comes  the  tribute — 
the  biggest  woman  the  State  of  Alabama  has 
known.  Men  and  women  involuntarily  raise 
their  heads  proudly  when  her  name  is  men- 
tioned and  exclaim,  "  Miss  Julia?  You  know 
Lyman  Abbott  said  publicly  that  she  is  Ala- 
bama's first  citizen." 

No  appreciation  of  Dr.  Abbott's  could  have 
pleased  her  people  more.  With  pride  they  point 
out  her  achievements  and  honours. 

Through  her  the  State  of  Alabama  decided 
to  give  to  its  girls  the  benefits  of  a  higher  edu- 
cation. Through  her  the  University  of  the 
State  of  Alabama  opened  its  doors  to  women; 
through  her  industrial  education  for  boys  and 
girls  began.  Through  her  grew  the  first  organ- 
ised prohibition  movement,  and  under  her  grew 
the  State's  most  famous  Normal  College.  From 
her  pen  came  articles  that  brought  Alabama 
nation-wide  fame,  and  songs  that  have  been 
given  first  place  in  the  public  schools  and  at  all 
public  gatherings.  For  twenty-five  years  she 
has  worked  steadily  and  persistently  to  better 


JULIA  TUTWILER  185 

the  conditions  for  prisoners,  succeeding  in  es- 
tablishing the  first  juvenile  reform  school,  in 
securing  prison  inspection,  prison  chaplains  and 
some  modification  of  the  still  existent  prison 
contract  system. 

Julia  Tutwiler  is  seventy-three  years  old  and 
still  working.  Within  the  last  two  years  arti- 
cles by  Miss  Julia,  urging  prison  reform  and 
prison  night  schools,  have  appeared  regularly 
in  one  of  the  Birmingham  papers.  Not  long  ago 
the  ladies  of  the  City  of  Montgomery  were 
startled  by  an  urgent  appeal  for  quilt  scraps 
presented  to  them  through  mail  and  press.  Miss 
Julia  was  visiting  the  prisons  and  she  found 
that  the  women  wanted  something  to  do.  If  she 
could  collect  enough  quilt  scraps  she  would 
start  them  all  at  patchwork.  AVhen  the  legis- 
lature of  the  State  of  Alabama  was  last  in 
session  there  was  no  more  active  lobbyist  than 
Miss  Julia.  For  prison  reform  and  child  labour 
bills  she  interviewed  and  pleaded,  her  energy 
unflagging,  her  vitality  apparently  inex- 
haustible. 

Visitors  from  other  States  looked  with  curi- 
osity at  the  busy  little  white-haired  woman 
' '  with  the  face  of  a  saint, ' '  clad  in  faded,  black 
skirt,  coat  of  obsolete  fashion  and  a  bonnet 
slipped  backwards  and  sidewise.  Evidently  this 
shabby  little  woman  was  a  person  of  influence, 


186      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

for  senators  and  officials  stopped  respectfully 
when  she  addressed  them  and  listened  atten- 
tively to  her  earnest  words.  They  could  not 
give  her  all  she  wanted ;  but  there  was  nothing 
but  love  and  reverence  in  their  hearts  for  their 
first  citizen. 

Miss  Julia  bears  upon  her  shoulders  not  only 
the  honours  accorded  her  but  those  given  to  a 
great  family.  There  were  eleven  of  the  Tut- 
wiler  brothers  and  sisters,  many  of  whom  have 
added  their  part  to  family  history;  but  in  this 
one,  the  greater  daughter  of  a  great  father, 
family  gifts  have  been  epitomised. 

Dr.  Henry  Tutwiler  is  still  lovingly  referred 
to  as  one  of  the  State's  distinguished  gentle- 
men. He  was  the  first  to  take  the  degree  of 
M.A.  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  the  first  pro- 
fessor of  ancient  languages  at  the  University  of 
Alabama,  the  founder  and  president  of  the  fa- 
mous high  school  for  boys  at  Greene  Springs, 
known  as  the  '^  Rugby  "  of  Alabama.  A  close 
friend  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  a  classmate  of 
Edgar  Allan  Poe,  Dr.  Tutwiler  is  remembered 
as  one  of  the  finest  men  of  his  generation. 

Under  his  personal  tutelage  Miss  Julia  grew 
up.  To  broaden  her  outlook  Dr.  Tutwiler  sent 
her  for  two  years  to  a  private  school  in  Phila- 
delphia conducted  by  a  Parisian  family,  where 
she  mastered  the  French  language.   Vassar  Col- 


JULIA  TUTWILER  187 

lege  opened  at  this  time,  and  Miss  Julia,  with 
the  vision  of  her  life-work  already  before  her, 
decided  to  visit  there  to  study  the  higher  order 
of  women's  colleges.  She  stayed  at  Vassar  a 
year  and  during  the  latter  part  of  her  visit  was 
given  charge  of  several  French  and  German 
classes.  When  she  returned  to  Alabama  she 
taught  at  Greensboro  and  at  her  father's  school 
at  Greene  Springs.  But  she  was  dissatisfied 
with  her  education.  Alabama  was  conservative 
and  upheld  the  traditions  of  the  South  with 
regard  to  the  education  of  women.  There  was 
no  place  for  her  to  study  in  her  own  State,  so 
she  went  to  Lexington,  Virginia,  where  at  the 
Washington  and  Lee  University  she  studied 
Greek  and  Latin  and  received  a  teacher's  cer- 
tificate in  those  branches.  Still  unsatisfied  she 
went  abroad  and  settled  three  years  in  a  Ger- 
man family  where  she  both  studied  and  taught, 
availing  herself  of  every  opportunity  to  study 
Germany's  progressive  methods  in  education 
and  storing  up  in  her  active  mind  suggestions 
which  she  could  carry  back  to  her  beloved  State. 
During  this  time  she  visited  the  industrial 
schools,  the  prisons  and  reform  schools,  and 
managed  to  pass  two  rigid  German  examina- 
tions, receiving  after  each  a  diploma  from  the 
Prussian  Board  of  Education.  When  she  re- 
turned she  taught  five  years  in  the  Tuscaloosa 


188      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Female  Academy,  going  abroad  during  one  scho- 
lastic year  to  study  schools  in  Paris.  She  was 
a  young  and  comparatively  inexperienced 
teacher  at  that  time,  but  she  soon  became  one 
of  the  most  popular  at  the  Academy. 

"  She  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  women  I 
ever  met,"  testified  one  of  her  pupils  at  the 
Academy.  "  She  never  was  pretty,  but  she  had 
a  low,  sweet  voice  and  a  radiant  smile.  She 
never  saw  a  fault  if  she  could  help  it,  and  if  she 
did  see  it  no  one  ever  knew  she  saw  it.  And  sho 
was  always  doing  the  most  beautiful  things  for 
someone.  I  remember  when  one  of  the  pro- 
fessors, a  poor  young  fellow,  lost  a  child.  Miss 
Julia  went  quietly  to  every  one  of  the  fifty 
boarders  at  school  and  asked  for  a  contribution 
of  fifty  cents  to  be  used  for  a  little  tombstone, 
for  the  father  could  not  buy  one.  Of  course  we 
all  gave  the  money,  much  to  the  happiness  of 
the  parents;  but  no  one  else  save  Miss  Julia 
would  have  thought  about  it." 

In  the  fall  of  1881  Miss  Julia  was  made  co- 
principal  with  Dr.  Carlos  G.  Smith  of  the  Liv- 
ingston Female  Academy.  The  institution  was 
a  private  one  when  she  entered  it ;  but  one  year 
later  the  State  made  an  appropriation  of  two 
thousand  dollars  for  tuition  and  five  hundred 
dollars  for  appliances  to  be  used  in  adding  to 
the  academy  a  training  school  for  teachers. 


JULIA  TUTWILER  189 

'*  This,"  says  Miss  Julia,  "  was  the  first  and 
only  gift  which  the  women  of  the  State  had  up 
to  that  time  received  from  State  or  Federal 
treasury." 

A  few  years  later  the  name  of  the  Academy 
was  changed  to  that  of  the  Alabama  Normal 
College  and  Miss  Julia  was  made  the  first  presi- 
dent. Then  she  began  the  work  that  laid 
the  foundation  for  her  State-wide  fame.  The 
new  Normal  School  was  planned  by  her  care- 
fully, lovingly,  the  course  of  study  being  based 
upon  all  that  she  had  learned  in  America,  in 
Germany,  in  France.  Neglecting  none  of  the 
academic  studies,  she  managed  to  introduce 
something  of  industrial  education,  of  art  and  of 
science,  although  these  things  were  regarded  as 
innovations,  perhaps  dangerous  for  female 
minds.  She  mothered  her  girls  as  she  taught 
them,  studying  them  individually,  gauging  ac- 
curately their  gifts  and  inclinations.  Her  own 
salary  was  five  hundred  dollars;  but  she  had 
some  personal  fortune,  and  this  was  spent  gen- 
erously in  financing  the  student  years  of  girls 
whose  parents  were  unable  to  keep  them  at  the 
school  longer.  No  one  will  ever  be  able  to  meas- 
ure Miss  Julia's  efforts  in  behalf  of  her  girls 
as  individuals.  For  one  of  her  protegees  who 
was  possessed  of  a  fine  voice.  Miss  Julia  found 
a  foster  father  and  mother  in  New  York  City. 


190      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

They  took  the  girl  abroad  and  educated  her. 
To-day  she  is  a  grand  opera  singer.  Another 
girl  who  displayed  considerable  artistic  ability 
found  herself  enabled  to  go  to  Paris  and  Rome. 
Since  she  has  returned  she  has  made  a  reputa- 
tion for  herself  in  America. 

When  Miss  Julia  took  the  Livingston  School 
it  was  a  small  academy;  but  erelong  it  became 
the  most  popular  school  in  the  State,  and  Miss 
Julia's  growing  fame  drew  to  it  ever-increasing 
numbers  of  students.  The  State  enlarged  its 
appropriation  to  seven  thousand  dollars,  to  ten 
thousand,  to  fifteen  thousand,  and  still  it  was 
insufficient.  Miss  Julia  proved  herself  not  only 
a  good  and  great  teacher,  but  a  thoroughly 
alert  business  woman.  When  the  appropria- 
tion was  but  two  thousand  dollars  she  took  hold 
of  the  boarding  department,  ran  it  so  it  paid  a 
profit  sufficient  to  furnish  the  salaries  of  several 
extra  teachers  and  filled  up  the  remaining  gap 
in  the  faculty  by  doing  the  work  of  three  her- 
self. 

Not  content  with  making  the  school  the  first 
in  the  State,  she  turned  her  attention  to  the 
town.  When  she  came  to  Livingston  she  found 
a  village  of  some  four  hundred  white  people. 
In  this  small  town  were  three  large  and  flour- 
ishing saloons,  supported  not  by  the  white  resi- 
dents but  by  the  negroes  in  the  country  around. 


JULIA  TUTWILER  191 

Livingston  is  on  the  edge  of  the  Black  Belt  in 
a  black  country  where  there  are  six  thousand 
negroes.  Every  Saturday  the  little  town  was 
filled  with  drunken,  roistering  negroes  who 
spent  for  whisky  the  money  that  should  have 
clothed  and  fed  their  children.  Miss  Julia  was 
moved  by  a  double  purpose.  Decidedly  this 
town  was  no  place  for  her  girls ;  nor  was  it  right 
that  these  black  people  should  waste  their  earn- 
ings. The  saloons  were  the  cause  of  the  trouble ; 
the  saloons  must  go.  She  organised  among  her 
students  a  campaign  for  prohibition  and 
brought  it  to  the  white  citizens.  It  was  hotly 
contested  by  some  of  the  town's  leading  men; 
but  she  was  at  last  successful  and  the  town  of 
Livingston  and  its  near  neighbour,  Sumter,  were 
freed  from  saloons  twenty-five  years  before  the 
prohibition  movement  became  a  power  in  the 
State. 

Livingston  grew  as  the  school  grew.  Miss 
Julia  grew  bolder  in  making  innovations.  One 
year  she  talked  seriously  to  her  girls  about  the 
advisability  of  giving  up  their  expensive  grad- 
uation gowns  and  taking  the  money  for  a  trip 
through  surrounding  States.  The  girls  listened 
with  respect  but  with  considerable  amusement. 
It  was  well  known  that  dress  was  the  last  con- 
sideration with  Miss  Julia.  Her  pupils  tell  a 
story  of  one  morning  when  she  conducted  chapel 


192      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

exercises  with  her  dress  skirt  on  wrong  side 
out.  The  school  had  become  co-educational  at 
that  time,  and  try  as  they  might,  ripples  of  mer- 
riment broke  from  the  assembled  students. 
Much  disturbed  at  the  unusual  outbreak,  Miss 
Julia  stepped  forward  to  inquire  the  cause ;  but 
one  of  her  teachers  intervened.  Then,  aghast 
at  her  thoughtlessness,  she  retired,  rearranged 
the  skirt  and  returned  to  her  subdued  but  still 
amused  pupils.  The  girls  decided  to  try  the 
trip  and  to  let  the  dresses  go,  and  this  was  the 
beginning  of  a  series  of  trips  on  which  Miss 
Julia  "  carried  "  her  pupils.  Her  knowledge 
and  her  genius  for  imparting  it  made  her  a 
rare  guide;  but  she  sorely  tried  her  young 
charges  by  her  indifference  to  dress.  For  one 
trip  she  had  a  new  waist  and  skirt  especially 
made.  When  the  party  arrived  at  Chattanooga 
some  function  was  to  be  attended  and  the  girls 
decided  that  Miss  Julia  must  wear  her  new 
frock.  To  their  dismay  they  found  the  carefully 
packed  waist  but  no  skirt.  They  telegraphed 
to  Livingston  to  have  the  skirt  sent  on  and  ar- 
rived at  their  next  stop  only  to  find  that  the 
waist,  laid  away  by  Miss  Julia,  had  been  left 
in  the  dresser  of  their  hotel  in  Chattanooga. 
The  party  was  on  its  return  journey  when  the 
parts  were  finally  brought  together. 

Before  she  had  accepted  the  school  at  Living- 


JULIA  TUTWILER  193 

ston  Miss  Julia's  writings  had  made  an  impres- 
sion on  the  educational  world.  She  was  the  first 
woman  in  Alabama  ever  requested  to  write  a 
paper  for  a  State  educational  convention.  She 
selected  for  her  subject  "  Trade  Schools  for 
Women."  The  paper  described  the  schools  of 
that  kind  which  she  had  examined  in  Paris  and 
urged  the  opening  of  similar  schools  in  Ala- 
bama. It  was  regarded  as  a  startling  and  rad- 
ical demand,  and  the  paper  itself  is  now  filed 
among  the  "  pioneer  papers  "  of  Dr.  J.  L.  M. 
Curry,  as  the  first  paper  written  in  the  United 
States  which  advocated  a  school  of  this  char- 
acter. 

In  1878  Miss  Julia  was  selected  by  the  Na- 
tional Journal  of  Education  to  report  the  edu- 
cational features  of  the  Paris  Exposition.  Her 
prose  writings  as  well  as  her  poems  and  songs 
found  a  ready  market,  and  she  was  a  contrib- 
utor to  various  papers  and  magazines,  among 
them  St.  Nicholas,  Appleton's  Weekly,  The 
Churchman,  The  San  Francisco  Post  and  The 
London  Christian  World.  One  of  her  songs,  en- 
titled ''  Alabama,"  so  appealed  to  the  Women's 
Christian  Association  of  the  State  that  they  de- 
cided to  adopt  it  as  their  State  song,  and  it  was 
afterwards  formally  accepted  by  the  govern- 
ment as  the  song  of  the  State.  Alabama's  State 
patriotism  is  strong  and  every  school  child  of 


194      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

ten  knows  and  sings  Miss  Julia's  ''  Alabama." 
In  her  songs  as  in  her  other  work  she  laboured 
for  a  cause.  *'  The  Star  Spangled  Banner  of 
Peace,"  *'  Dixie  Now  "  and  the  *'  Southern 
Yankee  Doodle  "  were  Miss  Julia's  contribu- 
tion to  the  movement  to  awaken  national  patri- 
otism and  overcome  sectional  feeling.  These 
too  are  school  songs  in  the  South  and  their  pop- 
ularity indicates  that  they  must  in  some  meas- 
ure have  accomplished  their  object. 

Honours  which  came  to  Miss  Julia  were  ac- 
cepted as  a  State  tribute  by  the  citizens  of  Ala- 
bama. She  was  invited  to  attend  three  world 
congresses.  In  1893  she  was  a  member  of  the 
Congress  of  Representative  Women  of  the 
World  at  Chicago  and  was  appointed  to  read  an 
article  in  the  Assembly  Hall  of  the  Woman's 
Building.  She  was  made  one  of  the  Judges  of 
Liberal  Arts  at  the  World's  Fair.  She  was 
made  Secretary  for  the  State  in  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  of  Charities  and  Corrections 
and  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Education.  Perhaps  the 
most  liighly  prized  honour  of  all  was  that 
awarded  by  her  own  Governor.  He  selected  her 
as  the  citizen  of  most  worth  to  represent 
Alabama  at  the  casting  of  the  new  Liberty 
Bell. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  progress  of  the  school 


JULIA  TUTWILER  195 

at  Livingston  was  marked.  But  Miss  Julia, 
once  radiantly  happy  over  this  gift  of  greater 
education  to  her  girls,  began  to  regret  that  they 
could  go  no  farther.  Many  of  the  young  women 
could  not  afford  to  leave  the  State  for  university 
training  and  yet  were  obviously  fitted  to  go  on. 
For  years  she  worked  to  get  the  University  of 
Alabama  to  open  its  doors  to  her  graduates  but 
without  avail.  Then  slowly,  reluctantly,  those 
doors  did  open.  Miss  Julia  had  by  sheer  per- 
sistence wearied  the  authorities  until  they  gave 
her  permission  to  use  a  vacant  cottage  on  the 
University  grounds.  The  experiment  was  re- 
garded as  hazardous  by  the  trustees,  faculty  and 
the  people  at  large.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  ten 
young  women  who  ever  matriculated  for  a  col- 
lege course  were  as  carefully  coached  on  conduct 
as  well  as  on  subjects  as  the  ten  young  women 
first  sent  to  the  University  of  Alabama  by  Miss 
Julia.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  trustees,  the 
faculty  and  the  people  at  large  saw  a  triumphant 
Miss  Julia  and  the  downfall  of  their  doubts. 
Her  ten  girls  had  won  sixty-six  per  cent,  of  all 
the  honours  given  against  the  competition  of  sev- 
eral hundred  young  men.  Their  conduct  was 
pronounced  irreproachable  by  the  most  con- 
servative of  the  professors,  and  they  had  done 
all  the  work  of  their  cottage  including  their 
own  cooking.     In  June,  1900,  Miss  Kose  Lew- 


196      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

thorn,  one  of  Miss  Julia's  girls,  received 
the  first  State  de^^'ree  ever  conferred  upon 
a  woman.  She  also  received  the  honour 
given  to  the  Senior  Class.  Of  six  honours 
given  that  year,  four  were  won  by  young 
women  from  the  Alabama  Normal  College. 
In  1901  two  graduates  of  the  University 
won  a  place  on  the  Koll  of  Honour.  One 
was  Miss  Julia's  pupil.  The  year  following  the 
first  degree  of  M.A.  ever  conferred  by  the  State 
upon  a  woman  was  given  to  Miss  Lila  Mac- 
Mahon,  who  was  prepared  for  the  University  at 
Miss  Julia's  Normal  School.  The  cause  of 
higher  education  for  women  in  Alabama  was 
won,  and  the  fame  of  the  teaching  that  produced 
such  scholars  filled  the  State.  The  trustees  of 
the  University  determined  to  do  the  thing  well 
while  they  were  about  it,  and  the  building  which 
shelters  the  women  students  is  known  as  the 
"  Julia  S.  Tutwiler  Annex.'* 

Even  with  the  Normal  College  and  the  State 
University  opening  their  doors  to  women,  Miss 
Julia  did  not  feel  that  the  opportunities  for  edu- 
cation for  girls  in  Alabama  were  sufficient.  Her 
"  pioneer  paper  "  on  industrial  education  had 
been  followed  by  many  others.  Many  girls 
would  never  be  students  at  Normal  Colleges  or 
Universities  who  were  nevertheless  bright,  capa- 
ble young  women  and  able  to  progress  in  a  dif- 


JULIA  TUTWILER  197 

ferent  way.  From  lecture  platform  and  in  her 
writings  she  preached  the  necessity  of  training 
for  the  girl  who  would  early  enter  the  home  or 
the  industrial  world.  At  her  own  expense  she 
sent  circulars  to  individuals  and  clubs  all  over 
the  State.  She  went  to  the  legislature  to  test 
and  improve  the  sentiment  of  that  body.  She 
succeeded  in  attracting  the  best  women  in 
Alabama  to  the  project.  As  one  noted  club 
woman  remarked,  "  We  took  hold  of  it  with  a 
whoop." 

As  a  result  there  was  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1893  a  bill  which  pro\'ided  for  the  Ala- 
bama Girls'  Industrial  School.  The  name  was 
afterwards  changed  to  the  Alabama  Girls'  Tech- 
nical Institute,  and  the  school,  founded  in  1896, 
is  a  State  institution.  Miss  Julia  was  offered 
the  presidency,  but  she  declined.  Four  hundred 
and  fifty  girls  are  now  at  Montevallo.  Every- 
thing that  an  up-to-date  school  of  the  most  ex- 
pensive type  can  boast  is  theirs,  the  free  gift 
of  the  State.  There  is  a  campus  of  thirtj''  acres, 
with  basket-ball,  tennis  and  croquet  grounds. 
There  are  fine  buildings,  a  chapel,  a  dormitory, 
a  library,  laboratories,  a  gjnunasium,  an  in- 
firmary, a  kitchen,  a  laundry,  a  power  house  and 
a  dairy.  There  are  a  farm  and  a  truck  garden. 
The  only  cost  to  the  young  women  who  attend 
the  Institute  is  for  board  and  incidentals,  and 


198      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

the  expense  is  so  small  that  the  school  is  meet- 
ing the  need  which  Miss  Julia  felt,  that  of  pro- 
viding a  sensible  education  for  the  girl  who  is 
not  an  academic  scholar.  There  is  academic 
instruction  of  the  best  kind ;  but  in  addition  the 
girls  learn  the  science  of  home-making  and  the 
relative  value  and  prices  of  foods.  They  study- 
fuels  and  combustion,  marketing,  sewing,  mil- 
linery, gardening,  farming,  dairying,  tomato 
canning  and  strawberry  culture.  For  the  girl 
who  wants  basiness  training  there  are  courses 
in  telegraphy,  bookkeeping,  shorthand  and  type- 
writing. For  the  girl  of  gifts  there  are  music, 
the  fine  arts,  and  manual  training.  Few  States 
have  equalled  this  remarkable  institution  of 
which  Alabama  may  justly  be  proud.  The  little 
woman  who  wrote  the  "  Pioneer  Paper  "  and 
who  worked  so  hard  to  secure  industrial  educa- 
tion has  not  been  forgotten.  Among  the  stu- 
dents there  has  been  organised  a  ''  Julia  S.  Tut- 
wiler  Club, ' '  which,  emulating  its  inspirer,  pro- 
vides a  scholarship  yearly  for  some  girl  trying 
to  better  her  condition. 

"  She  never  stopped  to  consider  herself," 
said  one  of  her  former  pupils.  "  She  was  for 
the  boy  and  girl,  black  and  white,  good  and 
bad." 

Because  the  girl  who  was  struggling  onward 
needed  help  Miss  Julia  gave  it ;  but  through  all 


JULIA  TUTWILER  199 

the  years  in  which  she  built  up  the  great  educa- 
tional institutions  for  women  she  worked  as  well 
for  the  girl  who  failed.  Boys  had  not  seemed 
to  need  her  much  in  the  onward  struggle,  but 
here  among  the  failures  they  needed  her  sorely. 
Away  back  in  the  days  when  she  taught  in  the 
Female  Academy  at  Tuscaloosa  she  began  her 
work  with  prisoners.  There  were  no  reform 
schools  for  wayward  children  in  those  days,  and 
the  most  of  the  prisoners  were  really  boys  and 
girls  about  the  age  of  those  in  her  classes  at  the 
Academy.  Miss  Julia  had  visited  the  prisons 
in  Germany  and  intended  to  investigate  those 
of  her  own  State.  But  she  was  unable  to  resist 
the  immediate  appeal  of  the  unfortunates  with 
whom  she  came  in  contact.  On  Sundays  she 
gathered  as  many  of  her  fellow-teachers  as  she 
could  and  went  to  visit  the  convicts,  her  Bible 
under  her  arm,  reading,  instructing,  consoling, 
aiding.  She  persuaded  the  Bible  houses  to 
give  her  copies  of  the  New  Testament  and 
finally  secured  one  for  every  cell  she  visited. 
Before  school  and  after,  whenever  her  hap- 
pier work  could  spare  her,  she  was  at  the 
prisons. 

It  was  a  common  thing  for  a  girl  student  to 
meet  her  on  the  street  hurrying  to  school  and 
inquire  severely. 

Miss    Julia,    have    you    had    any   break- 


(( 


200      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

fast?  "  To  which  frequently  Miss  Julia  was 
forced  to  make  embarrassed  and  apologetic 
response, 

'*  Law,  honey,  I've  been  so  busy  I've  just  for- 
gotten all  about  it." 

There  was  a  county  jail  at  Livingston,  and 
when  Miss  Julia  went  there  her  work  went  on. 
On  Sunday  she  would  see  her  flock  safely  to 
church  and  then  steal  out  to  visit  and  conduct 
services  in  the  jail  itself.  When  she  became 
convinced  that  to  really  help  she  must  have 
State-wide  knowledge  of  conditions  to  secure 
remedial  legislation  she  left  her  flourishing  col- 
lege for  week-ends  and  visited  jails  and  prisons 
throughout  the  State. 

She  persuaded  the  railroads  that  her  investi- 
gations were  worth  -while  and  secured  a  pass 
which  permitted  her  to  board  any  train  in  the 
State  at  any  place.  As  Livingston  is  not  on 
a  main  line,  Miss  Julia  frequently  left  the  Nor- 
mal College  on  Friday  afternoon,  walked  down 
three  miles  of  railroad  track  to  the  main  line 
crossing  and  then  patiently  waited  for  the  first 
main-line  train  which  slowed  np.  No  train 
stopped  there ;  but  a  switch  made  slow  running 
necessary,  and  as  the  engineer  slowed  down 
Miss  Julia  clutched  the  hand  rail  of  the  rear  car 
and  swung  herself  aboard,  terrifying  the  con- 
ductors and  brakemen,  who  expected  her  to  be 


JULIA  TUTWILER  201 

killed  and  remonstrated  vainly  with  her  con- 
cerning her  recklessness.  For  years  she 
adopted  this  as  her  programme,  while  the  train- 
men were  in  despair,  but  unhurt  and  smiling 
she  went  on  to  the  convict  prisons  and  camps 
near  Birmingham,  where  thousands  of  the 
Alabama  prisoners  are  sent  to  work  in  the 
mines. 

What  she  found  there  was  enough  to  dis- 
hearten the  bravest.  The  majority  of  Alabama 
prisoners  were  then  and  are  still  hired  out  by 
the  State  to  private  employers.  There  is  no 
discrimination  made  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
crime.  Eed-handed  murderers  and  professional 
burglars  are  rented  out  side  by  side  with  youths 
who  in  a  spirit  of  fun  stole  a  ride  on  a  freight 
car.  Together  they  work  in  mines  where  life  is 
in  constant  danger.  Miss  Julia  tells  a  pitiful 
story  of  two  boys  who  were  travelling  with  a 
small  show  and  who  were  accidentally  left  be- 
hind when  the  company  left  Birmingham.  The 
boys  consulted  and  decided  that  they  would 
''  beat  "  their  way.  They  boarded  a  freight 
train  and  were  arrested  at  a  town  named  Jas- 
par.  When  taken  before  the  Justice  they 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  remain  in  jail  until  they 
could  communicate  with  their  friends.  The 
Justice  refused  and  sent  them,  in  company  with 
other  offenders,  to  the  Banner  Mine.    It  was 


202      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

at  noon  of  that  very  day  that  the  explosion  oc- 
curred wliich  is  national  history,  and  the 
two  lads  were  among  those  literally  blown  to 
pieces. 

As  a  source  of  income  the  State  prizes  con- 
vict labour,  and  the  man  who  happens  to  be  pres- 
ident of  the  convict  commission  is  rated  not  by 
the  number  of  men  who  are  returned  to  society 
as  better  citizens  for  their  discipline  but  by  the 
number  of  dollars  turned  into  the  State 
treasury. 

There  is  so  much  left  to  be  desired  for  Ala- 
bama that  it  is  difficult  to  realise  that  conditions 
are  better  than  in  the  days  when  Miss  Julia 
began  her  work.  But  there  are  certain  specific 
improvements  that  can  be  traced  to  her  efforts. 
Among  these  is  the  Boj's'  Reformatory  at  East- 
lake,  Birmingham,  known  as  the  Alabama  Indus- 
trial School.  Miss  Julia  was  the  first  to  go  to 
the  Governor  and  legislature  with  the  plans  for 
such  an  institution  and  when  she  failed  there 
to  take  her  hopes  to  the  State  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs.  The  women  listened  and  were 
convinced.  They  founded  the  school  with  their 
own  money,  and  although  the  State  is  now  con- 
tributing to  its  support,  they  still  help  to  sus- 
tain and  to  manage  it. 

For  twenty-five  years  Miss  Julia  worked  as 
Superintendent  of  the  Prison  and  Jail  Depart- 


JULIA  TUTWILER  203 

ment  of  the  Alabama  Women's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union.  Her  reports  to  the  Union  show 
the  concrete  results  of  her  many  years  of  labour, 
results  which  the  world  is  unlikely  to  see.  They 
include  a  chaplain  secured  for  one  prison,  a  hos- 
pital established  in  another,  a  convict  camp 
made  sanitary  and  a  prison  inspection  law 
passed.  For  years  Miss  Julia  worked  to  estab- 
lish night  schools  for  the  convicts  and  at  last 
she  succeeded.  The  legislature  passed  a  bill 
providing  for  a  number  of  night  schools  and 
they  were  accordingly  started.  At  once  they 
proved  popular  with  the  prisoners. 

For  eight  or  ten  years  the  night  school  work 
kept  on.  At  the  State  farm  at  Speigener,  at  the 
Pratt  mines,  at  Coalburg  and  at  various  other 
Xilaces  night  schools  flourished.  Then  suddenly 
they  ceased.  An  official  in  power  omitted  to 
specify  night  schools  in  his  agreement  with  the 
contractors  for  prison  labour.  All  the  years  of 
labour  on  Miss  Julia's  part  seemed  suddenly 
futile.  Nevertheless  she  began  again.  As  with 
her  girls,  the  effort  in  behalf  of  all  never  les- 
sened her  interest  in  an  individual,  and  her  per- 
sonal ministrations  among  the  prisoners  gained 
for  her  at  the  instance  of  Bishop  Fitzgerald  the 
sobriquet ' '  The  Angel  of  the  Stockade. ' '  When 
she  retired  from  Normal  College  the  State  de- 
cided to  make  her  President  Emeritus  and  to 


204      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

continue  the  salary  which  she  had  been  re- 
ceiving. 

'*  Well,"  said  Miss  Julia,  ''  as  long  as  the 
State  pays  me  a  salary  I  must  earn  it."  So  she 
planned  a  year  of  work  for  the  prisoners  and 
faithfully  went  from  city  to  city,  visiting  the 
prisons,  speaking  to  clubs  and  associations  and 
endeavouring  in  every  way  to  better  conditions. 
After  a  year  the  State  discontinued  the  salary 
despite  an  indignant  popular  protest;  but  the 
work  went  on.  Miss  Julia  was  taken  ill,  but  she 
wrote  constantly  for  the  papers  and  magazines, 
and  the  women  of  the  United  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy,  moved  by  new  admiration  for  her 
magnanimity,  founded  a  Julia  S.  Tutwiler 
Scholarship  at  the  State  University. 

There  are  many  influences  now  working  in 
behalf  of  Alabama  prisoners.  There  is  a  new 
State  prison  inspector  who  is  doing  good  work. 
There  are  associations  which  are  endeavouring 
to  put  an  end  to  the  contract  system,  and  one 
great  company  employing  five  hundred  convicts 
has  voluntarily  refused  to  contract  for  prison 
labour.  The  twenty-five  years  of  patient,  quiet 
work  are  somewhat  obscured  by  these  more  re- 
cent dramatic  events;  but  Miss  Julia  rejoices. 
Not  for  glory  nor  for  honour  has  she  toiled,  al- 
though both  are  hers,  but  for  the  great  end,  with 
no  thought  of  self.    In  the  words  of  her  own 


JULIA  TUTWILER  205 

State  song  is  her  life  best  typified,  except  that 
in  all  eyes  save  hers  the  little  given — is  much. 


Little,  little  can  I  give  thee, 

Alabama,  Mother  mine, 

But  that  little — hand,  brain,  spirit, 

All  I  have  and  am  are  thine. 

Take,  oh,  take  the  gift  and  giver. 

Take  and  serve  thyself  with  me; 

Alabama,  Alabama, 

I  will  e'er  be  true  to  thee." 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG 


The  Mayor  of  Philadelphia  is  Rudolph  Blanken- 
burg.  Lucretia  Blankenburg  is  his  wife.  There- 
fore Philadelphia,  the  *'  boss-ridden,"  the 
''  corrupt  and  contented,"  the  "  slothful  "; 
Philadelphia,  the  "  home  of  unscrupulous  poli- 
ticians," the  "  delight  of  the  grafter,"  holds 
her  head  proudly,  repudiates  all  her  former 
titles  and  invites  America  to  witness  her  refor- 
mation. 

Philadelphia  has  been  paying  Rudolph  Blan- 
kenburg  for  his  services  a  little  less  than  a  year. 
It  has  been  receiving  the  services  of  both  the 
Blankenburgs  for  nearly  forty.  Slowly,  pains- 
takingly and  unfalteringly  this  man  and  woman 
have  worked  half  a  lifetime  for  civic  righteous- 
ness, unrecognised,  unrewarded,  unknown  to  the 
great  body  of  citizens.  Then  suddenly  the  mis- 
governed people  wearied  of  their  rulers,  wearied 
of  the  black  morass  of  political  defilement,  of 
shameful  epithets  thrown  at  them  by  sister 
cities  and  looked  for  a  leader  to  better  things. 
They  found  him  at  his  self-appointed  task,  gave 
him  recognition  and  the  highest  office  in  their 

209 


210      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

power,  and  then  sat  back  amazed  to  find  that 
instead  of  one  they  had  secured  two  public 
servants,  both  of  whom  approached  their  work 
with  a  deep  sense  of  its  obligation,  both  of  whom 
entered  with  eagerness  upon  the  task  before 
them,  both  of  whom  were  well  fitted  to  straighten 
out  the  difficulties  besetting  the  hitherto  "  worst 
governed  city  in  America." 

When  Mr.  Blankenburg  was  elected,  his  wife 
said: 

*  *  If  he  needs  my  help  he  shall  have  it.  I  hope 
to  aid  him  much  in  the  four  years  that  are 
ahead.  It  is  a  great  and  serious  task  that  is 
before  us,  and  one  that  will  necessitate  many 
hours  of  thought  and  labour. ' ' 

In  the  months  that  have  passed  since  the 
Mayor  entered  upon  his  duties  she  has  made 
her  word  good.  She  has  helped  at  every 
turn,  so  efficiently  that  certain  wiseacres  smile 
when  her  name  is  mentioned  and  say  know- 
ingly: 

"  Mrs.  Blankenburg?  Oh,  yes,  of  course  she 
is  the  real  Mayor  of  Philadelphia." 

The  wiseacres  are  wrong.  Rudolph  Blanken- 
burg is  a  man  quite  capable  of  handling  a  man's 
job,  even  the  difficult  task  of  giving  a  graft- 
ridden  city  an  honest,  progressive  business  ad- 
ministration. The  Mayor  of  Philadelphia  is  the 
man  whom  the  people  elected,  but  he  himself 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  211 

will  admit  that  the  city  has  also  acquired  a 
Mayoress,  a  Mayor's  right  hand,  a  person  whose 
companionship  he  values  even  on  official  jour- 
neys, whose  counsel  he  respects,  whose  civic 
work  is  as  worthy  of  commendation  as  his 
own. 

''  Usually,"  said  Mrs.  Blankenburg,  *'  we 
divide  the  speechmaking.  Mr.  Blankenburg  is 
always  being  called  upon  for  conventions,  pub- 
lic school  openings,  bazaars  and  the  like.  Some- 
times he  speaks  and  sometimes  I  do.  One 
Blankenburg  is  enough  for  one  evening.  Only 
once  have  we  spoken  from  the  same  plat- 
form. ' ' 

In  the  same  way  they  have  been  working  for 
forty  years,  "  dividing  "  the  civic  duties  or  oc- 
casionally joining  forces  to  batter  down  some 
persistent  obstacle  in  their  path  or  to  obtain 
some  much-desired  end. 

When  Mrs.  Blankenburg  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Education  of  the  New  Century 
Club  she  was  working  hard  to  get  kindergartens 
into  the  public  school  system.  To  do  this  she 
wanted  to  have  Miss  Anna  Hallowell  elected  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Education.  Miss  Hal- 
lowell was  president  of  an  association  organ- 
ised to  foster  kindergartens,  knew  all  about  kin- 
dergartens and  might  be  counted  on  to  convert 
the  Board.    But  opposing  Miss  Hallowell  as  a 


212      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

candidate  for  the  position  was  a  man.  Men  were 
preferred  to  women  on  the  Board  of  Education, 
and  the  man  stood  a  good  chance  of  winning 
the  election.  Mr.  Blankenburg  knew  the  man, 
and  having  himself  first  been  converted  to  the 
idea  of  kindergartens,  so  used  his  persuasive 
powers  upon  his  friend  that  the  man  withdrew 
his  candidacy.  Miss  Hallowell  was  elected,  and 
kindergartens  became  a  part  of  the  public  school 
system. 

It  is  impossible  to  write  of  one  of  the  Blanken- 
burgs  without  constantly,  referring  to  the  other. 
When  lives  are  united  not  only  by  mutual  af- 
fection, but  also  by  mutual  work  and  mutual 
interests,  they  are  too  closely  interwoven  to 
permit  detailed  individual  analysis.  As  the  nov- 
elists say,  "  there  is  a  strong  thread  of  romance 
running  through  their  lives, ' '  a  real  romance  of 
a  real  attraction.  They  are  no  longer  young; 
the  Mayor  will  be  seventy  his  next  birthday,  and 
his  wife  is  a  few  years  younger.  But  the  ro- 
mance lives. 

Mrs.  Blankenburg 's  maiden  name  was  Lu- 
cretia  Longshore.  That  in  itself  involves  a 
story,  for  she  was  named  for  Lucretia  Mott, 
one  of  the  pioneer  woman  suffragists,  and  one 
of  the  band  of  Friends  to  whom  Philadelphia 
owes  its  sobriquet,  "  the  Quaker  City."  Lu- 
cretia Mott  was  her  mother's  intimate  friend. 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  213 

The  mother  herself  was  one  of  those  brave 
women  who  dared  public  opinion  in  behalf  of 
her  convictions.  While  conservative  Philadel- 
phia shook  its  head  in  horrified  disapproval, 
Dr.  Hannah  E.  Longshore  hung  out  her  sign — 
the  first  woman  physician  in  that  city.  Accord- 
ing to  the  social  custom  of  the  day,  she  was 
snubbed,  ostracised,  openly  laughed  at  and  sub- 
jected to  all  the  persecutions  great  and  petty 
which  come  to  pioneers  in  a  new  field  of  thought. 
Her  daughter,  naturally,  grew  up  a  suffragist. 
When  she  was  a  young  girl,  a  German  youth 
of  twenty-two  came  to  the  city  with  letters  of 
introduction  to  her  family.  At  once  he  became 
a  welcome  visitor.  When  he  had  made  a  start 
in  the  new  country  he  and  Lucretia  Longshore 
were  married.  Three  daughters  were  born  to 
the  young  couple;  but  none  lived  to  maturity. 
After  the  grief  following  their  death  had  soft- 
ened, the  Blankenburgs  endeavoured  to  fill  the 
vacant  place.    They  adopted  a  daughter. 

It  was  at  the  time  of  the  Centennial  Exposi- 
tion that  the  Blankenburgs  began  their  public 
work.  The  exposition  had  called  for  assistance 
from  all  public-spirited  citizens  and  there 
seemed  much  to  be  done  when  it  ended.  The 
Blankenburg  business  of  manufacturing  bed- 
quilts,  spreads  and  yarn  was  doing  splendidly, 
and  its  head,  unlike  the  average  money-maker, 


214      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

thought  he  could  discern  equally  important  du- 
ties elsewhere.  Mrs.  Blankenburg  began  by 
joining  a  woman's  club. 

A  woman  who  belonged  to  a  club  was  a  some- 
what remarkable  person  in  those  days.  Wom- 
en's clubs  were  few  and  the  majority  of  those 
in  existence  were  given  over  to  literary  and 
musical  events  and  to  the  study  of  Shakespeare 
and  Browning.  A  committee  of  the  New  Cen- 
tury Club,  of  which  Mrs.  Blankenburg  was  a 
member,  interested  themselves  in  starting  night 
classes  in  instruction  for  working  women,  did 
not  think  of  regarding  their  work  as  a  civic 
movement. 

Mrs.  Blankenburg  looked  surprised  when 
questioned  about  it. 

"  Why,  I  suppose  that  was  civic  work,"  she 
said,  "  but  I  never  thought  of  it  in  that  way. 
Of  course  everybody  copied  from  us.  The 
Y.  W.  C.  A.,  and  afterwards  the  public  schools 
and  various  church  organisations,  took  up  the 
same  work,  following  our  example  and  urged 
by  us  as  individuals,  but  we  never  called  the 
work  '  civic  '  in  the  beginning." 

The  beginning  consisted  of  three  or  four 
classes  held  in  the  building  of  the  New  Century 
Club.  Mrs.  Blankenburg  had  studied  bookkeep- 
ing and  she  became  the  teacher  in  that  depart- 
ment.   She  also  assisted  in  planning  the  cooking 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  215 

class  of  which  she  is  justly  proud.  Mrs.  Eorer 
is  the  star  pupil. 

One  of  Mrs.  Blankenburg's  pupils  in  the 
bookkeeping  class  was  a  little  woman  who  kept 
a  store  and  sold  cigars  and  shoes.  She  did  not 
do  well  at  the  bookkeeping;  in  fact  she  failed 
so  utterly  that  Mrs.  Blankenburg  asked  her 
gently  if  she  did  not  think  she  had  better  give 
the  class  up. 

''  I  know  I  shall  never  learn,"  said  the 
woman,  '*  but  can't  I  just  come  and  sit  in  the 
class?  It  is  my  only  opportunity  to  get  into 
society. ' ' 

The  pathetic  little  speech  set  Mrs.  Blanken- 
burg thinking.  If  this  woman's  chances  for 
social  intercourse  were  so  limited,  there  must  be 
hundreds  of  others  similarly  situated  and  some- 
thing ought  to  be  done. 

She  talked  over  the  problem  with  a  co-worker, 
Mrs.  Eliza  S.  Turner,  and  Mrs.  Turner  brought 
the  matter  before  the  other  Club  members. 
After  much  discussion  there  was  formed  as  an 
adjunct  to  the  New  Century  Club  of  New 
Century  Guild,  an  organisation  to  be  composed 
of  working  women,  to  be  fostered  and  helped 
by  the  parent  association  until  it  could  stand 
alone. 

To  Mrs.  Blankenburg  fell  the  difficult  task  of 
trying  to  finance  the  new  organisation.     The 


216      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

members  bought  two  houses  on  Arch  Street,  a 
decaying  residence  section.  Mrs.  Blankenburg 
tried  to  rent  one  at  a  sufficient  profit  to  enable 
the  club  to  carry  the  other. 

"  And  I  had  a  perfectly  awful  time  doing  it," 
she  admitted.  "  I  never  knew  how  dreadful 
tenants  could  be. ' ' 

In  course  of  time  the  decayed  residence  dis- 
trict became  a  flourishing  business  section.  The 
houses  were  sold  at  a  profit,  and  just  at  this 
time  an  endowment  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
came  to  the  guild.  To-day  the  New  Century 
Guild,  with  twelve  hundred  members,  a  charm- 
ing club-house  which  it  owms,  a  library,  rest 
rooms,  an  assembly  hall  and  a  restaurant  for 
noonday  lunches,  is  one  of  the  most  important 
clubs  in  the  city  and  almost  independent  of  its 
founders. 

"  Of  course  we  still  help  the  new  things 
along,"  said  Mrs.  Blankenburg.  "  For  in- 
stance, I  have  just  been  down  to  the  opening 
of  the  new  dining-room  and  I  do  anything  I 
can.  But  the  Guild  is  really  independent  and 
a  wonderfully  successful  organisation." 

A  great  deal  of  Mrs.  Blankenburg 's  work  has 
been  directly  in  behalf  of  women.  One  of  her 
first  efforts  was  to  get  a  representation  of 
women  on  the  Board  of  Education.  She  suc- 
ceeded in  having  Miss  Anna  Hallowell  elected, 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  217 

and  later  Mrs.  Mary  Mumford,  and  Philadelphia 
schools  benefited  by  the  work  of  these  two  edu- 
cational experts.  In  1895  a  committee  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Woman's  Suffrage  Association, 
of  which  Mrs.  Blankenburg  was  President,  se- 
cured a  law  which  provided  that  a  married 
woman  who  contributed  to  the  support  of  her 
children  should  have  an  equal  right  to  the  cus- 
tody and  care  of  the  minor  children.  Before 
this  time  the  enlightened  State  of  Pennsylvania 
gave  this  right  to  the  mother  only  when  the 
father  had  been  proved  a  drunkard  or  worthless 
or  had  failed  to  provide  for  his  family.  For 
years  she  has  been  working  for  the  passage  of 
a  law  which  will  protect  a  childless  widow 
equally  with  a  childless  widower.  As  the  law 
now  stands  a  childless  widow  inherits  one-half 
the  personal  estate  and  the  use  of  one-half  the 
real  estate  of  her  deceased  husband,  while  the 
childless  widower  gets  all  the  personal  and  the 
use  of  all  the  real  estate. 

Addressing  members  of  a  legislature  is  usu- 
ally an  event  in  the  life  of  a  woman  who  has 
had  that  honour.  To  Mrs.  Blankenburg  it  is 
part  of  the  year 's  work. 

"  I  have  addressed  legislatures — ^well,  I  do 
not  know  how  many  times.  I  have  held  four 
different  meetings  in  the  hall  of  the  House  in 
behalf  of  laws  for  women,  and  I  have  spoken 


218      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

often  in  both  House  and  Senate.  I  have  spoken 
at  Congress,  too,  when  we  had  hearings  on  bills. 
I  always  speak  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
housekeeper;  I  have  no  other.  I  am  not  a  col- 
lege woman.  Few  colleges  were  open  to  women 
in  my  day;  so  mine  is  purely  the  home  view- 
point." 

Mrs.  Blankenburg  was  one  of  the  committee 
of  women  who  inaugurated  the  system  of  police 
matrons  in  Philadelphia.  The  committee  was 
a  voluntary  one;  it  had  no  authority  and  re- 
ceived no  compensation.  It  did  have  the  en- 
tree to  station  houses  and  it  equipped  the  first 
matron's  department.  Through  its  efforts  four 
police  matrons  were  appointed  as  an  experi- 
ment. The  four  matrons  were  greatly  assisted 
by  the  committee  members.  They  visited  the 
stations  frequently,  found  clothing,  homes  and 
jobs  for  some  of  the  unfortunate  women  and 
generally  made  the  innovation  so  successful  that 
the  police  matron  became  a  part  of  the  police 
system.  There  was  much  other  miscellaneous 
civic  work. 

**  You  know  I  have  seldom  been  a  leader  in 
things,"  confided  Mrs.  Blankenburg,  *'  but  I  am 
often  on  committees  and  work  hard  helping  to 
push  things  along." 

All  Philadelphia  knows  that.  I  was  a  re- 
porter on  a  Philadelphia  newspaper  in  1907  and 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  219 

shortly  after  my  entrance  into  the  fourth  estate, 
a  fellow-reporter  drew  me  aside. 

"  I'll  give  you  a  tip,"  she  said.  "  Whenever 
you  are  out  of  news,  go  up  and  spend  an  hour 
with  Mrs.  Blankenburg.  She  will  always  see 
you  and  she  is  always  doing  something  for  the 
good  of  the  town,  and  if  she  hasn't  any  news  of 
herself  she  knows  somebody  else  who  is  doing 
something,  too.  I  can  always  get  a  column  of 
news  there." 

As  a  member  of  the  Woman's  Health  Pro- 
tective Association,  Mrs.  Blankenburg  ably  as- 
sisted in  ''  pushing  along  "  movements  to  se- 
cure trolley  fenders,  vestibules  on  trolley  cars 
and  sand  filtration  of  water. 

In  1903  Mrs.  Blankenburg  opened  an  active 
campaign  against  the  smoke  nuisance.  Phila- 
delphia had  city  ordinances  and  State  laws. 
But  Philadelphia  continued  to  be  smoky  and 
dirty.  Mrs.  Blankenburg  organised  a  commit- 
tee to  try  to  persuade  the  offenders  to  stop. 
The  committee  did  everything  it  could  up  to 
the  point  of  the  defective  legislation.  It  per- 
suaded and  coaxed  and  forced,  and  Philadelphia 
began  to  be  cleaner.  In  her  own  district  Mrs. 
Blankenburg  got  up  a  petition,  secured  the  sig- 
natures of  several  hundred  householders  and 
sent  it  to  the  offending  firms.  One  firm  imme- 
diately changed  its  fuel  and  put  in  smoke  con- 


220      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

sumers ;  a  second  reduced  the  number  of  smoke- 
stacks. In  order  to  raise  money  to  continue  the 
campaign  and  to  carry  it  to  Harrisburg  for 
better  laws  on  the  smoke  nuisance,  Mrs. 
Blankenburg  sent  out  a  printed  notice  asking 
for  contributions.  The  notice  did  not  bear  her 
name;  but  the  answers  were  sent  to  her  as 
chairman  of  the  committee.  On  opening  one 
she  read ; 

''  I  will  contribute  to  your  fund  if  you  will 
agree  to  join  me  in  a  movement  to  suppress 
that  pestiferous  nuisance,  Eudolph  Blanken- 
burg." She  declined  the  contribution,  but  she 
continued  to  work  to  abate  the  nuisance  until 
her  husband's  term  in  office  brought  about  an 
enforcement  of  the  smoke  laws. 

Eudolph  Blankenburg  has  become  a  "  pestif- 
erous nuisance  "  indeed  to  the  politicians. 
While  his  wife  worked  steadily  at  her  task,  he 
was  busily  engaged  at  his.  During  the  Eussian 
famine  he  helped  to  collect  the  shipload  of  pro- 
visions which  Philadelphia  sent  to  the  starving 
people.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  asked  him  to 
supervise  the  taking  of  the  ship  to  its  destina- 
tion; but  he  refused  unless  he  was  allowed  to 
pay  his  oivn  expenses.  This  concession  made, 
he  followed  the  shipload  over  the  frozen  steppes 
to  the  very  homes  of  the  needy. 

He  helped  to  plan  the  Philadelphia  Charity 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  221 

Organisation.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the 
German  Citizens'  Relief  Committee  at  the  time 
of  the  Johnstown  floods.  He  worked  for  the 
refugees  from  the  San  Francisco  earthquake. 
Whenever  the  city  needed  a  man  who  could  be 
counted  upon  to  give  both  time  and  money  to 
a  needy  cause,  it  appointed  Rudolph  Blanken- 
burg  and  he  accepted,  always  providing  that  he 
pay  his  own  expenses.  At  home  he  studied  the 
money-lenders.  He  opened  offices  in  the  Betz 
Building  and  sat  there  four  or  five  hours  daily, 
attending  to  the  complaints  of  men  and  women 
who  had  been  fleeced.  In  four  years  he  relieved 
two  thousand  one  hundred  cases  at  his  own  ex- 
pense. He  was  elected  County  Commissioner 
and  he  executed  his  duties,  but  sent  his  salary 
to  the  City  Trust  funds,  providing  that  it  be 
divided  between  certain  city  pension  lists.  He 
worked  hard  politically  as  a  progressive  in  his 
party,  travelling  at  his  own  expense  and  asking 
no  recompense  in  money  or  in  office.  A  poli- 
tician who  wanted  to  run  things  on  a  business 
basis,  who  cared  not  for  dollars  nor  preference, 
who  was  stubbornly  and  persistently  honest  and 
incapable  of  compromise!  No  wonder  he  was 
found  more  **  pestiferous  "  than  the  smoke 
nuisance. 

Nor  had  Mrs.  Blankenburg  been  politically 
idle.     She  is  a  member  of  the  Good  Citizens' 


222      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Club.  She  was  a  mombor  of  the  Woman's  City 
Party  during  its  lifetime  and  she  worked  hard 
in  this  connection.  In  her  own  district  she  is 
a  member  of  the  Tenth  Ward  Woman's  City 
Improvement  Society,  and  if  the  residents  of 
the  Tenth  Ward  are  still  in  ignorance  as  to  the 
vital  facts  concerning  their  ward  and  city  it  is 
not  the  fault  of  Mrs.  Blankenburg.  Very  pains- 
takingly and  carefully  she  wrote  a  series  of 
Civic  Bulletins  labelled:  "  Do  You  Know  the 
Tenth  Ward!  "  "  City  Housekeeping,"  ''  City 
Fathers,"  etc.  These  bulletins  are  little 
primers.  They  ask  every  conceivable  question 
about  the  ward  and  the  city — how  many 
voters  there  are,  how  many  schools,  how 
many  churches,  what  are  the  methods  of  city 
government,  the  powers  vested  in  the  mayor 
and  council.  They  are  in  the  simplest  English 
and  delivered  to  every  householder  as  a  budget 
of  valuable  information. 

When  Mr.  Blankenburg  was  nominated,  the 
women  of  Philadelphia  rallied  at  once  to  his 
support.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
city,  women  formed  active  political  committees 
which  raised  campaign  funds,  held  meetings 
and  conducted  house  to  house  canvasses  in  his 
behalf. 

"  When  they  did  that,"  said  Mrs.  Blanken- 
burg, ' '  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  step  aside  and  keep 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  223 

quiet.  But  of  course  they  met  with  me  often 
and  I  helped  some." 

It  was  the  queerest  election  campaign  Phila- 
delphia has  ever  known.  In  a  ward  meeting 
where  Mr.  Blankenburg's  opponent  was  in  the 
ascendency,  a  woman  suddenly  rose.  She  was 
poorly  dressed,  and  the  people  assembled  stared 
as  she  began  to  speak.  It  was  a  pitiful  story 
of  a  hunted  woman,  hunted  by  one  of  those 
fiends  in  human  form,  the  loan  shark,  until 
everything  had  gone  and  life  itself  seemed  not 
worth  the  struggle.  And  then  came  help — help 
in  the  form  of  a  man,  just,  wise  and  tender.  He 
had  lifted  her  out  of  her  despondency,  had 
helped  her  to  her  feet,  had  given  her  courage, 
had  righted  her  wrong.  He  was  Rudolph 
Blankenburg.  With  tears  streaming  down  her 
worn  cheeks,  she  besought  them  to  vote  for  him, 
this  man  who  without  reward  or  profit  had 
saved  her  and  thousands  like  her.  The  hall  was 
very  silent  as  she  finished,  and  the  opposition 
let  the  speech  remain  unanswered. 

One  day  a  woman  appeared  at  both  the  Men's 
and  Women's  Campaign  Headquarters.  Each 
time  she  took  from  her  purse  five  hundred  one- 
dollar  bills. 

*'  For  Mr.  Blankenburg's  election,"  she  said, 
"  and  with  every  bill  there  goes  a  prayer." 
She  refused  to  give  her  name. 


224      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Children  in  the  schools  formed  Blankenburg 
Clubs,  with  the  slogan,  "  For  good  govern- 
ment.'* When  election  day  came  there  seemed 
a  slim  chance  of  winning.  Mrs.  Blankenburg 
sat  all  evening  in  her  favourite  rocker,  inter- 
ested but  not  excited  in  the  returns  over  the  tele- 
phone. Her  chief  concern  was  lest  her  husband 
should  come  home  alone. 

He  came  at  three  o  'clock  and  he  had  two  thou- 
sand men  with  him.  He  stopped  a  moment  to 
tell  her  the  news,  and  then  he  drew  her  to  the 
doorway  while  he  made  a  speech. 

' '  It  was  the  women  and  children  of  this  city 
who  elected  me, ' '  he  said. 

Since  then  the  life  of  the  Blankenburgs  has 
been  busier  than  ever.  The  Mayor  has  had  his 
job  and  has  tackled  it  with  energy  and  enthusi- 
asm. Mrs.  Blankenburg  has  been  made  a  vice- 
president  of  the  Patrons'  Section  of  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association  and  First  Vice- 
President  of  the  General  Federation  of  Wom- 
en's Clubs.  In  addition  she  has  the  cares  inci- 
dent to  the  administration. 

At  first  she  was  deluged  with  letters  asking 
for  positions.  When  the  people  found  that  she 
had  no  positions  to  give,  they  began  asking  as- 
sistance. One  man  wanted  her  to  see  that  the 
Mayor  stopped  the  boys  in  his  neighbourhood 
from  playing  ball  on  Sundays.    Several  asked 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  225 

her  assistance  in  selecting  wives,  and  one  asked 
for  help  in  burying  a  dead  cat.  There  are  hun- 
dreds of  these  senseless  letters,  and  then  there 
are  a  great  many  requests  for  interviews  and 
innumerable  telephone  calls. 

*'  People  all  want  to  come  and  tell  me  their 
troubles,"  she  said;  '^  and  when  I  can  I  let 
them.  Many  are  in  earnest,  and  I  can  help. 
But  it  does  take  time." 

There  are  almost  daily  complaints  about  City 
Hall.  One  woman  employee  who  wanted  her 
room  changed  wrote  about  it  and  then  confi- 
dently told  her  fellows  it  would  be  done,  as  she 
had  written  to  Mrs.  Blankenburg. 

"  Those  things  I  send  promptly  to  the  City 
Hall  departments,"  said  Mrs.  Blankenburg  in 
referring  to  the  matter,  ''  unless  they  are  con- 
fidential, and  then  I  pay  no  attention  to  them. 
I  do  not  meddle  at  all  in  City  Hall. ' ' 

Despite  the  years  given  to  public  service  the 
Blankenburg  business  and  the  Blankenburg 
fortune  have  increased.  But  there  has  been  lit- 
tle change  in  the  home.  The  Quaker  touch  is 
plainly  seen  in  its  comfortable,  unostentatious 
furnishings.  Mrs.  Blankenburg  manages  her 
own  household  affairs,  plans  her  dinners  and  is 
quite  capable  of  cooking  them  and  of  making 
her  own  frocks.  The  household  is  not  troubled 
by  social  ambitions. 


226      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

"  I  never  gave  a  tea  in  my  life,"  declared 
Mrs.  Blankenburg.  "  I  really  detest  those 
stand-up-and-get-acquainted  affairs.  Of  course 
it  is  worth  while  to  meet  somebody  who  has 
done  something  in  the  world.  I  love  dinner 
parties  where  interesting  people  meet  to  discuss 
the  really  important  things  of  life." 

''  You  never  see  the  Mayor  without  her  any- 
where except  in  his  office,"  is  a  general  and 
satisfied  comment.  Of  course  she  is  with  him — 
because  he  wants  her  there.  When  I  last  called 
to  see  her,  the  Mayor  came  in  very  hot  and 
tired. 

"  Thee  knows  I  have  to  go  out  again  to- 
night," he  reminded  her.  ''  I  am  to  crown  a 
queen.  Thee  had  better  come  with  me.  Else  the 
queen  and  I  may  elope. ' ' 

Mrs.  Blankenburg  smiled. 

li  There  is  a  carnival  in  West  Philadelphia," 
she  explained. 

The  Mayor  went  out  but  returned  shortly. 
Some  repair  work  was  being  done  in  the  dining- 
room  and  parlours,  and  his  wife  had  prepared  a 
table  for  dinner  in  the  little  study  where  we  sat. 
The  Mayor  sat  down,  apologised  for  the  neces- 
sity of  eating  in  my  presence,  and  then  returned 
to  his  point  anxiously. 

"  Now  will  thee  go  with  me  to-night?  "  he 
queried. 


LUCRETIA  L.  BLANKENBURG  227 

The  thermometer  stood  at  92°.  Mrs.  Blanken- 
burg  had  superintended  workmen,  arranged 
meals  in  a  disrupted  household,  tried  to  help  a 
young  woman  to  sell  some  oil  paintings,  re- 
ceived me  and  given  me  the  help  I  asked  for, 
and  doubtless  done  a  score  of  things  besides; 
but  she  looked  up  radiant. 

'<  Why,  of  course  I  will  go,"  she  answered, 
"  if  thee  wants  me."  She  rose  and  sat  down 
close  by  the  little  table.  I  went  away  with  the 
picture  fast  in  my  memory. 

Together  they  are  fighting  the  good  fight. 
The  next  years  must  bring  great  changes  for 
Philadelphia  with  the  Blankenburgs  at  the  helm. 
Perhaps  at  the  end  even  the  unconverted  fac- 
tion will  admit  the  sincerity  of  the  Blankenburg 
motto : 

"  It  is  better  to  serve  the  people  than  to  ex- 
ploit them." 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW 


ANNA  HOWAED  SHAW 


She  wants  to  be  a  policeman,  and  she  says  that 
she  thinks  she  has  fairly  earned  the  place.  She 
has  her  own  political  platform,  one  which  is 
strictly  non-partisan.  And  if  the  eighty  thou- 
sand women  of  whom  she  is  the  chosen  leader 
should  acquire  the  ballot,  she  may  yet  reach  the 
summit  of  her  ambition.  Should  she  succeed, 
the  force  will  have  every  reason  to  welcome  to 
its  number  the  Reverend  Anna  Howard  Shaw. 

Miss  Shaw  is  a  self-made  woman.  The  sixty- 
odd  years  which  have  given  her  dignity  and  wis- 
dom mark  a  history  that  abounds  in  romantic 
interest.  And  you  may  go  back  even  farther 
than  sixty  years  to  find  the  spirit  which  has 
animated  Miss  Shaw  manifested  in  her  an- 
cestors. Miss  Shaw's  grandmother  was  an 
Englishwoman,  a  Unitarian.  She  was  required 
by  law  to  pay  tithes  to  the  Church  of  England, 
and  she  would  not.  She  sat  in  her  doorway, 
defiantly  knitting  and  denouncing  the  unjust 
law  while  her  household  goods  were  auctioned 
every  year  in  the  street. 

Miss  Shaw  is  also  English  bom.    She  came 

231 


232      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

to  America  when  four  years  old,  the  family  set- 
tling in  Massachusetts.  Eight  years  later  they 
joined  the  pioneers  journeying  westward  and 
decided  to  stop  in  Michigan.  There  in  the 
depth  of  the  Michigan  woods  they  built  a  log 
cabin  and  lined  the  walls  of  it,  for  warmth,  with 
old  copies  of  the  New  York  Independent. 
There  were  no  schools,  no  books  and  no  papers 
in  the  settlement,  but  Miss  Shaw's  father  was 
a  scholar  and  Miss  Shaw  inherited  his  studious 
tendencies.  She  was  always  indifferent  to 
housework  and,  whenever  she  could,  stole  away 
with  a  book  or  a  paper  or  anything  printed,  to 
the  woods  to  study. 

There  were  wolves  in  the  woods,  as  Anna  well 
knew.  Nevertheless  she  ran  away  at  every  op- 
portunity. One  day  after  such  an  escapade, 
her  father  spoke  seriously  to  her.  She  had 
found  an  especially  interesting  book  and  had 
stayed  away  from  morning  until  nightfall. 

"  A  girl  who  will  run  away  to  the  woods  and 
stay  all  day  to  read,"  said  Mr.  Shaw  sternly, 
* '  is  of  no  account.  Your  place  is  at  home  help- 
ing your  mother.  I  suppose  we  shall  never  be 
able  to  do  anything  with  you;  you  are  the  one 
black  sheep  of  the  whole  family." 

The  twelve-year-old  girl  started  up,  deeply 
hurt. 

*'  Some  day  you  will  take  all  that  back,"  she 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  233 

declared,  her  eyes  flashing.  '^  I  am  going  to 
study  and  study  and  some  day  I  shall  go  to 
college,  and  when  I  am  through  I  shall  make 
money — lots  of  money.  I  shall  be  worth  ten 
thousand  dollars!"  Then  she  stopped,  sud- 
denly afraid  of  her  own  words. 

"  I  wonder  if  a  woman  ever  was  worth  ten 
thousand  dollars,"  she  thought  guiltily. 
''  Well,  now  I'll  have  to  do  it." 

Mr.  Shaw,  however,  was  unimpressed.  Hd 
sent  the  ambitious  student  to  bed  supperless, 
and  shook  his  head  mournfully  over  his  wicked 
little  daughter. 

At  fifteen  years  of  age  she  had  learned  enough 
to  become  a  teacher.  The  salary  was  two  dol- 
lars a  week,  payable  at  any  time  the  community 
found  convenient.  At  one  time  Anna  decided 
that  the  struggle  was  useless,  that  she  never 
would  save  enough  to  go  to  college  and  that 
she  would  forget  her  ambitions  and  become  a 
tailoress.  But  she  reconsidered  the  matter  and 
kept  on.  At  last  she  had  saved  eighteen  dollars. 
It  came  very  slowly,  especially  as  the  first 
year's  salary  was  a  whole  year  late.  This  was 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  school-teachers  could 
not  be  paid  until  the  dog  tax  was  collected! 
With  that  precious  eighteen  dollars  she  started 
for  Albion  College. 

It  was  all  she  had.    Her  father  and  mother, 


234      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

impressed  by  her  desire  for  an  education,  had 
planned  to  send  her  to  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, but  just  before  the  time  for  her  to  go,  she 
decided  that  she  ought  to  become  a  preacher. 
The  presiding  elder  of  a  local  church  offered 
her  an  opportunity  to  talk  from  his  pulpit.  Her 
first  sermon  proved  such  a  successful  one  that 
he  invited  her  to  preach  in  every  pulpit  in  his 
circuit  and  the  next  year  she  was  licensed  as  a 
local  preacher  by  the  regular  district  confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Her 
ambition  to  go  to  college  became  one  to  grad- 
uate from  a  school  of  theology,  and  this  change 
in  plan  met  with  strong  opposition  on  the  part 
of  her  parents.  When  she  refused  to  give  up 
preaching  her  father  and  mother  told  her  that 
they  would  do  nothing  whatever  to  assist  her  in 
her  college  course. 

During  the  years  at  Albion  she  continued  her 
preaching,  although  it  added  but  little  to  her 
uncertain  income, — Miss  Shaw  says  that  she 
never  knew  until  church  was  out  whether  she 
would  be  paid  with  a  bouquet  of  flowers  or  a 
greenback.  Somehow  or  other  she  managed  to 
continue  her  work  until  she  was  ready  for  Bos- 
ton University. 

The  years  at  Albion  had  been  hard  enough, 
but  those  in  Boston  were  still  harder.  Money 
did  not  go  very  far  in  Boston.    Miss  Shaw  lee- 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  235 

tured  wherever  she  could  induce  people  to  pay 
her  and  preached  as  often  as  she  could  find  a 
pulpit  vacant.  But  she  earned  only  enough 
money  to  keep  her  in  an  attic  without  fire.  She 
studied  in  bed  to  keep  warm  and  watched  her 
breath  make  frosty  clouds  upon  the  air  as  she 
recited  her  lessons.  Her  shoes  began  to  go 
and  she  could  not  get  new  ones.  Finally  she 
actually  began  to  suffer  for  the  necessities  of 
life. 

One  day  she  crept  up  the  stairs  of  the  Uni- 
versity and  found  herself  too  weak  to  reach 
the  recitation-room.  She  sat  down  upon  the 
steps  and  rested  her  head  against  the  wall.  The 
Superintendent  of  the  Missionary  Society  came 
by  and  exclaimed  in  wonder  at  her.  Too  weak 
to  be  proud,  Miss  Shaw  told  why  she  was  sitting 
there. 

''  Too  much  work  and  too  little  food,"  she 
said  wearily. 

''  But  why,"  asked  the  superintendent,  ''  do 
you  work  so  hard  ?  ' ' 

' '  One  must  live, ' '  replied  Miss  Shaw.  A  day 
later  the  superintendent  proposed  that  Miss 
Shaw  abandon  her  irregular  work,  as  she  had 
a  position  to  offer  her. 

*'  It  will  pay,"  she  said,  ''  five  dollars  a 
week."  This  was  about  the  sum  Miss  Shaw 
had  been  ekeing  out  in  various  directions,  and 


236      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

delighted  to  obtain  regular  employment  she 
readily  accepted. 

"  But  what  must  I  do?  "  she  asked. 

''  You  are  to  promise  not  to  speak  in  public 
or  to  do  any  extra  work  during  the  remainder 
of  the  college  year,"  said  the  superintendent. 
It  was  not  difficult  for  Miss  Shaw  to  promise 
to  faithfully  earn  her  five  dollars,  and  pro- 
foundly grateful  for  the  kindness  that  made  it 
possible,  she  asked  the  name  of  her  benefactor, 
but  the  superintendent  refused  to  disclose  it. 
And  although  the  sum  paid  weekly  was  a  ' '  sal- 
ary "  Miss  Shaw  accepted  it  as  a  loan,  and  when 
better  days  came  repaid  it  through  the  medium 
of  the  superintendent  in  order  that  it  might 
help  some  other  tired  and  discouraged  student. 

It  was  while  she  was  a  theological  student  at 
Boston  University  that  she  obtained  her  first 
pastorate ;  this  was  at  the  Methodist  Church  at 
Hingham,  Massachusetts.  Her  second  was  at 
Dennis,  Massachusetts,  where  she  filled  the 
Methodist  and  Congregational  pulpits  for  six 
years.  During  her  third  year  at  the  University 
she  became  the  warm  friend  of  Mrs.  Persis 
Addy,  a  widow.  Mrs.  Addy  persuaded  Miss 
Shaw  to  leave  her  attic  and  come  to  her  home, 
agreeing  to  permit  her  to  preserve  her  inde- 
pendence by  paying  board.  At  the  close  of  the 
course  Mrs.  Addy  planned  to  take  Miss  Shaw 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  237 

abroad,  but  died  just  before  her  graduation. 
When  her  will  was  read  it  was  found  that  she 
had  left  the  young  student  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars to  take  the  trip,  and  Miss  Shaw  decided 
to  go. 

Mrs.  Addy's  father  advised  her  to  deposit 
the  money  in  the  bank  of  which  he  was  president 
and  to  borrow  a  sufficient  amount  to  go  to  Eu- 
rope and  then  repay  it  little  by  little  from  her 
work  on  her  return.  As  an  incentive  to  saving, 
this  sounded  like  a  good  plan.  Miss  Shaw  ac- 
cepted the  offer,  and  still  has  the  two  bonds 
which  she  bought  then  with  the  fifteen  hundred 
dollars.  The  interest  on  them  has  paid  the 
travelling  expenses  of  a  half-dozen  trips  to  Eu- 
rope which  she  has  taken  since  she  bought  them. 

After  the  four  years  at  Boston  University 
and  a  successful  graduation,  Miss  Shaw  ex- 
pected to  be  ordained  and  to  begin  her  work 
as  a  regular  pastor.  She  applied  for  ordination 
to  the  church  which  appealed  to  her  most,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal;  but  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  did  not  want  her  because  she  was 
a  woman.  They  deliberated  the  matter  for 
some  time,  while  Miss  Shaw  waited  and  smarted 
over  the  injustice  done  her.  One  of  the  min- 
isters at  the  conference  knew  Miss  Shaw  well. 
He  had  been  glad  to  have  her  supply  his  place 
during  an  extended  illness.    The  young  woman 


238      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

had  pleased  his  congregation.  Moreover,  she 
had  refused  to  accept  any  salary  for  her 
services,  turning  the  whole  amount  over  to  him 
when  he  recovered,  and  this  desijite  the  fact  that 
she  was  forced  to  drive  a  long  distance  to  take 
his  place.  The  minister  felt  grateful — ^but  after 
all  she  was  a  woman  and  he  did  not  approve 
of  women  as  ministers  of  the  gospel.  So  he 
voted  against  her  ordination.  When  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  decided  that  Miss  Shaw 
could  not  be  ordained,  she  turned  to  the  Meth- 
odist Protestant  Church  and  at  last  was  made  a 
regularly  ordained  pastor.  She  secured  a  pas- 
torate and  was  a  great  success  as  a  preacher. 
Her  pastoral  duties  were  more  difficult.  She 
wanted  to  extend  her  field  of  work  among  the 
working  peojole  and  she  found  that  they  were 
hard  to  reach. 

**  I  found,"  she  said,  *'  that  if  I  went  among 
the  people  with  the  Bible  or  with  a  tract  in  my 
hand  I  could  do  nothing  with  them.  They 
simply  would  not  listen." 

In  the  face  of  this  discouraging  fact  Miss 
Shaw  did  some  hard  thinking.  She  had  la- 
boured for  years  to  be  able  to  minister  and  now 
she  could  not,  for  her  people  would  not  hear. 
Finally  she  decided  that  if  she  could  help  them 
they  might  listen,  and  she  went  back  to  the  Uni- 
versity and  started  upon  four  years  more  of 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  239 

study,  this  time  for  a  physician's  degree.  She 
kept  her  pastorate  and  managed  to  complete 
her  course.  She  is  probably  the  first  woman 
in  this  country  to  receive  both  theological  and 
medical  degrees.  Then  she  went  to  the  people 
she  desired  to  help  as  a  medical  missionary. 

''  Then,"  she  says  happily,  "  every  door 
opened  to  me  and  I  could  get  to  the  people  who 
were  susceptible  to  influence."  With  a  case 
of  medicines,  she  was  a  successful  pastor.  She 
was  particularly  interested  in  immoral  women, 
and  it  was  with  them  in  mind  that  she  studied  to 
be  a  doctor,  because  she  believed  that  in  no 
other  way  than  through  a  knowledge  of  medi- 
cine could  she  get  at  them.  But  her  work 
among  them  was  ' '  simply  like  being  at  the  bot- 
tom of  a  precipice  taking  away  the  dead  bodies 
of  the  people  who  fell  over  instead  of  being  at 
the  top  and  preventing  them  from  falling." 
Miss  Shaw  reasoned  that  financial  independence 
was  what  these  women  needed.  She  felt  that 
the  basis  of  financial  independence  and  of  every 
other  principle  of  life  was  freedom,  and  that 
the  first  thing  necessary  was  to  remedy  the  po- 
litical subjection  of  women  so  that  they  would 
be  in  a  position  politically  to  help  themselves. 
Miss  Shaw  began  to  speak  for  suffrage  so- 
cieties. 

At  once  she  demonstrated  that  she  was  a  re- 


240      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

markable  speaker  and  calls  for  her  services  be- 
gan to  come  from  far  and  near.  Her  pastoral 
duties  prevented  her  acceptance  of  many  of 
these  calls,  and  these  refusals  made  her  con- 
sider her  own  position  seriously.  She  was  hold- 
ing a  little  country  charge  and  had  very  little 
chance  of  holding  anything  else.  The  prejudice 
against  women  preachers  was  a  bar  to  advance- 
ment. Young  men,  no  better  equipped  than  her- 
gelf,  were  being  called  to  large  churches  while 
she  was  left  to  vegetate.  The  ten  thousand 
dollars  which  she  had  promised  to  make  seemed 
very  remote  indeed  unless  some  miracle  hap- 
pened, or  unless  she  entered  some  work  that 
gave  promise  of  a  future.  So  she  entered  the 
suffrage  work. 

She  could  not  give  free  lectures,  for  she  had 
her  living  to  earn,  but  she  did  not  anticipate 
adding  much  toward  that  promised  ten  thousand 
dollars. 

The  suffrage  society  received  her  upon  those 
terms  and  in  a  very  short  time  she  became 
known  as  one  of  their  ablest  speakers.  At  one 
meeting  in  San  Francisco  five  thousand  people 
stood  before  the  doors  of  the  hall  in  which  she 
was  to  speak,  waiting  for  admission.  She  had 
always  been  an  active  temperance  worker,  and 
she  was  able  to  combine  with  her  suffrage  work 
her  activities  in  the  Woman's  Christian  Tern- 


ANNA  HOWAKD  SHAW  ,  241 

perance  Union.  Her  success  accomplislied  what 
all  her  years  of  persistent  work  had  failed  to 
accomphsh — it  convinced  her  father.  He 
walked  twelve  miles  to  hear  her  preach  one 
sermon,  and  when  he  heard  her  preach  the 
seimon  at  the  Woman 's  Congress  at  the  Colmn- 
bian  Exposition,  he  told  her  that  it  was  the  hap- 
piest day  of  his  life.  For  years  she  was  the 
friend  and  co-worker  of  Susan  B.  Anthony,  and 
when  Miss  Anthony  died  she  named  Miss  Shaw 
as  her  successor  to  the  presidency  of  the  Na- 
tional Woman's  Suffrage  Association. 

At  the  time  Miss  Shaw  became  president  of 
the  national  association,  the  ballot  had  been 
granted  to  women  in  only  four  States,  and  the 
suffragists  engineered  about  one  campaign  in 
ten  years.  Now  they  engineer  practically  ten 
campaigns  in  one  year  and  there  are  nine  States 
in  which  women  may  vote. 

During  Miss  Shaw's  presidency,  the  main  of- 
fices of  the  Association  have  been  moved  from 
Warren,  Ohio,  to  New  York  City.  The  Asso- 
ciation has  grown  from  seventeen  thousand  to 
sixty-five  thousand  paid  members.  The  litera- 
ture department  has  increased  from  the  sales 
of  thirteen  hundred  dollars  a  year  to  thirteen 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  A  department  devoted 
entirely  to  press  work  has  been  created.  It  fur- 
nishes material  for  all  of  the  leading  press  syn- 


242      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

dicates  in  the  United  States,  for  foreign  syn- 
dicates, and  sends  articles  to  hundreds  of  papers 
around  the  country.  Miss  Shaw  is  modest 
about  these  achievements.  "  They  only  indi- 
cate the  growth  of  the  movement  within  the  last 
few  years,"  she  says,  ''  and  our  movement  has 
only  grown  in  proportion  to  similar  movements 
in  European  countries." 

As  the  head  of  the  executive  work  of  the  as- 
sociation. Miss  Shaw  spends  a  good  deal  of  time 
in  her  office  as  well  as  on  the  lecture  platform, 
but  she  always  goes  into  the  field  when  cam- 
paigns are  pending.  The  Association  superin- 
tends much  of  the  legislative  work  of  the  cam- 
paigns: it  sends  speakers  and  articles  and  also 
money.  Miss  Shaw  personally  raises  a  large 
part  of  the  money.    "  I  beg  it,"  she  says. 

One  of  the  original  features  of  her  lectures  is 
her  question  box.  At  the  beginning  she  invites 
her  hearers  to  write  questions  and  to  send  them 
to  the  box  to  be  answered.  Her  knowledge  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  has  never 
been  found  wanting  in  answer  to  the  most 
searching  questions;  neither  has  she  failed  to 
reply  to  the  anxious  mother  who  queried  as 
to  the  care  of  her  baby  during  an  attack  of 
croup. 

Miss  Shaw  has  been  the  recipient  of  many 
honours.    She  was  the  first  woman  to  preach  in 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  243 

Denmark,  or  in  Norway,  or  in  the  cities  of  Ber- 
lin and  Amsterdam,  and  the  first  woman  to 
preach  as  an  ordained  minister  in  an  orthodox 
church  in  England.  After  a  lengthy  conference 
she  was  invited  to  speak  from  the  pulpit  of  the 
Established  Church  of  Sweden,  and  here,  too, 
she  was  the  pioneer  of  her  sex.  The  aisles  of 
the  Gustaf  Vasse  in  Stockholm  were  packed  and 
the  building  failed  to  accommodate  the  crowd 
which  gathered  to  hear  her.  At  the  Interna- 
tional Convention  of  the  Woman's  Suffrage  Al- 
liance, held  in  Sweden,  the  entire  assemblage 
rose  as  she  entered,  in  honour  of  her  presence. 

People  marked  her  white  hair  in  the  recent 
suffrage  parade  in  New  York  City.  She  walked 
the  course  from  Fifty-ninth  Street  to  Union 
Square  with  a  step  as  light  as  that  of  any  girl. 
Then  she  made  six  speeches  from  the  various 
stands,  only  stopping  when  nightfall  broke  up 
the  meeting. 

During  the  long,  hard  years  of  study  and  the 
long,  hard  years  of  work.  Miss  Shaw  confesses 
that  she  still  found  time  to  dream.  For  twenty 
years  she  dreamed  of  a  home.  It  is  quite  usual 
to  hear  anti-suffrage  orators  announce  that  suf- 
fragists do  not  desire  homes,  that  they  are 
never  in  their  homes,  and  that  their  only  desire 
is  to  get  away  from  the  home.  Nevertheless, 
Miss  Shaw,  without  any  excuse  in  the  shape  of 


244      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

a  husband  and  babies,  wanted  a  home.  And 
her  dream  took  a  distinct  form.  AVhen  she  had 
accumulated  a  part  of  the  ten  thousand  dollars 
she  sought  a  real-estate  agent. 

*'  I  want,"  she  said,  "  land  on  a  high  hill 
overlooking  boulders  with  trees  growing  among 
them,  with  a  stream  of  water  and  a  ruined  mon- 
astery. ' ' 

The  agent  regarded  her  dubiously. 

"  You  won't  get  anything  like  that  this  side 
of  Paradise,"  he  said. 

'*  Well,"  retorted  Miss  Shaw,  ''  then  I  will 
wait  until  I  get  to  Paradise  to  get  it." 

But  at  the  end  of  a  year  of  search  the  agent 
telegraphed :  ' '  Come ;  I  Ve  got  your  land. ' ' 

Miss  Shaw  hastened  to  inspect  it  and  found 
the  hill,  the  boulders  and  the  stream,  and  agreed 
to  dispense  with  the  monastery.  But  she  was 
dismayed  to  find  that  in  order  to  get  her  hill, 
boulders,  trees  and  stream  she  would  have  to 
purchase  twenty-three  acres  at  a  price  which 
represented  every  dollar  she  possessed.  All 
night  she  sat  up  and  went  over  the  figures,  only 
to  come  again  and  again  to  the  same  conclusion. 
If  she  bought  the  view,  she  would  not  have  a 
penny  left  with  which  to  build  the  home !  Morn- 
ing found  her  determined  to  spend  every  penny 
she  had  and  to  get  the  view.  So  she  bought  the 
twenty-three  acres.    She  reserved  eight  and  set 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  245 

to  work  to  sell  the  remainder,  succeeding  so 
well  that  in  less  than  a  year  she  was  ready  to 
build  Alnwick  Lodge. 

Alnwick  Lodge  is  more  than  a  house ;  it  is  a 
direct  reflex  of  its  builder  and  mistress.  It  is 
a  distinctly  original  home.  Outside  it  looks  like 
a  substantial  dwelling  of  Colonial  type  with 
rough-plastered,  biscuit-coloured  walls  and 
white  trimmings.  But  the  instant  the  visitor 
steps  over  the  threshold  the  originality  is  ap- 
parent. In  this  home  the  front  of  the  building 
is  the  back  and  the  back  is  the  front. 

''  You  see,"  explains  Miss  Shaw,  "  the  maid 
always  likes  to  see  the  road  and  the  passers-by. 
So  we  put  the  kitchen  at  the  front.  The  rear, 
which  looks  over  the  boulders  and  brook,  is 
more  interesting  to  me ;  so  I  have  put  the  great 
porch  there. ' ' 

The  house  has  two  distinct  interests.  One  is 
its  perfect  convenience  in  housekeeping  ap- 
pointments. Any  anti-suffragist  who  is  using 
the  anti-home  argument  will  be  utterly  put  to 
rout  after  one  visit  to  Alnwick  Lodge.  In  the 
first  place  there  are  numerous  windows.  All 
the  radiators  are  under  windows,  and  under 
windows  which  are  placed  so  that  they  catch 
the  prevailing  winds.  The  result  is  a  cool  house 
in  summer  and  a  warm  one  in  winter.  All  walls 
are  painted  in  biscuit  colour  and  all  ceilings 


246      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

white.  All  the  windows  are  large,  extending 
close  to  the  floor  and  ceiling.  There  is  an 
abundance  of  light  at  night  as  well  as  by  day. 
In  the  great  living-room,  which  occupies  one- 
half  of  the  ground  floor,  there  are  lights  in  the 
ceiling  at  every  corner,  as  well  as  the  central 
chandelier.  The  door  between  the  dining-room 
and  pantry  is  half  glass.  The  pantry  itself, 
unlike  the  usual  dark  closet,  has  a  large  window 
and  is  supplied  with  a  sink  and  hot  and  cold 
water.  Both  the  pantry  and  kitchen  have  great 
closets.  The  kitchen  boasts  a  small  vine-covered 
porch  which  was  designed  by  Miss  Shaw,  not 
for  buckets  and  pails,  but  for  the  maid  to  enter- 
tain her  company !  The  basement  is  well  floored 
and  well  lighted,  with  an  up-to-date  laundry  in- 
stalled, and  in  the  basement  is  also  the  water- 
tank.  This  water-tank  occupies  its  unique  posi- 
tion because  of  Miss  Shaw's  logical  reasoning. 
Tanks  are  usually  on  the  roof — ^because  of  the 
stupidity  of  builders.  The  water  has  to  be 
pumped  up  anyway,  and  a  tank  on  the  roof 
freezes  in  cold  weather.  Then  it  may  leak,  and 
if  it  leaks  it  ruins  ceilings  and  walls ;  a  basement 
tank  may  leak  and  hurt  nothing.  All  of  this  is 
so  sensible  that  you  wonder  that  tanks  are  ever 
placed  on  roofs.  The  kitchen  and  basement  con- 
tain more  of  Miss  Shaw's  handiwork  than  any 
other  portion  of  the  house. 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  247 

**  I  do  not  claim  to  be  an  excellent  house- 
keeper," she  says,  "  but  I  can  handle  wood." 

Back  in  that  Michigan  forest  she  learned  to 
fell  trees,  and  at  sixty-odd  she  still  fells  trees, 
for  exercise  and  recreation.  She  cuts  her  own 
kindlings  and  her  logs  for  grate-fires.  She  puts 
up  shelves,  preserve-closets  and  racks  as  well  as 
an  expert  carpenter.  Her  latest  addition  to  her 
kitchen  is  a  fireless  cooker,  which  she  built  ac- 
cording to  scientific  principles  and  wliich  she 
says  works  well. 

The  stairway  to  the  second  floor  is  Miss 
Shaw's  pride. 

''  Not  a  stairway  in  a  hundred,"  she  asserts, 
''  has  a  low  enough  tread."  This  stair  has 
broad,  low  steps.  It  was  secured  only  after  a 
hard  battle  with  the  architect,  who  wanted  the 
steps  deeper,  claiming  that  low  ones  were  not 
architecturally  correct. 

"  Well,"  said  Miss  Shaw  at  last,  ''  low  steps 
are  hygienic,  and  if  you  make  these  broad,  I  will 
cut  off  that  curlicue  you  have  at  the  bottom, 
myself."  At  this  proposed  mutilation  of  the 
curved  rail  of  his  Colonial  stairway  the  archi- 
tect surrendered. 

There  is  a  sun-parlour  halfway  to  the  second 
floor,  known  as  "  The  Children's  Corner," 
where  little  visitors  may  play  without  disturb- 
ing their  elders  on  either  floor.    The  bathroom 


248      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

windows  are  another  unusual  feature.  These 
are  high  in  the  wall,  so  high  that  no  one  can  see 
in,  and  the  light  can  never  be  too  strong.  There- 
fore, neither  blinds  nor  curtains  are  needed. 
None  of  the  bedroom  closets  have  doors,  be- 
cause they  are  more  sanitary  when  the  air  has 
access  to  them.  As  no  brooms  are  used  in  the 
house,  they  do  not  get  dusty.  All  bedroom  win- 
dows are  made  so  low  that  you  may  lie  in  bed 
and  look  out  to  the  "  view."  There  are  two 
outdoor  sleeping-porches  opening  from  the  bed- 
rooms. 

With  all  this  the  house  is  not  large  nor  elab- 
orate; but  it  is  the  work  of  a  woman  who  un- 
derstands housekeeping  and  the  minimising  of 
labour  as  well  as  the  securing  of  comfort. 

But  this  is  only  one  of  the  interests  which 
Ahiwick  Lodge  holds.  The  second  lies  in  its 
furnishings  and  in  its  activities.  Although  the 
house  is  but  seven  years  old,  the  path  across 
the  fields  from  the  station  at  Moylan,  Pennsyl- 
vania, is  well  worn  by  the  steps  of  hundreds  of 
visitors.  Women  who  have  laboured  long  in  the 
cause  of  woman's  suffrage  come  to  the  friendly 
living-room,  almost  as  to  a  shrine.  For  here  is 
Miss  Susan  Anthony's  favourite  chair  and  her 
footstool.  In  a  corner  is  her  old  bookcase. 
Mrs.  Lucy  Reid  Anthony's  chair,  over  one  hun- 
dred years  old,  stands  near  Miss  Susan's.    In 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  249 

the  dining-room  is  the  silver  tea-service  pre- 
sented to  Miss  Anthony  by  the  Woman's  Po- 
litical Equality  Club  of  Rochester.  On  the  side- 
board and  in  the  china-closet  are  numerous 
pieces  presented  to  Miss  Shaw  or  to  Miss  An- 
thony, representing  every  State  in  the  country 
and  every  nation  in  the  world. 

And  upstairs,  in  what  is  known  as  the  friend's 
room — there  is  no  ''  guest  "  room — the  walls 
are  lined  with  the  friendly  faces  of  the  women 
who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  cause  of 
suffrage.  Alice  and  Phoebe  Gary,  Anna  Dick- 
inson, Frances  Wright,  Anna  Ella  Carroll, 
Elizabeth  Smith  Miller,  Margaret  Bright  Lucas, 
Abigail  Adams,  Lucretia  Mott,  Charlotte 
Bronte,  Julia  Ward  Howe — all  these  and  many 
more  look  down  upon  the  ' '  friend  ' '  who  sleeps 
there — a  force  well  calculated  to  win  a  convert 
to  the  **  cause." 

And  although  the  home  is  so  young,  it  has 
seen  many  frolics.  Even  professional  suffrage 
workers  have  time  for  merrymaking.  There 
have  been  times  when  twenty-four  cots  in  the 
big  attic  were  not  enough  to  hold  the  friends 
who  thronged  the  house.  And  Miss  Shaw  has 
married  one  of  her  young  friends  beneath  her 
roof,  and  hopes  to  marry  another  erelong,  act- 
ing as  minister,  friend  and  hostess  at  one  time. 

**  A  place  for  us  all  to  be  happy  in,"  says 


250      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Miss  Shaw  contentedly;  "  it  was  for  that  I  built 
it.  Men  and  women  in  public  life  find  it  hard 
to  withdraw  when  age  makes  it  wise  for  them 
to  do  so.  Often  they  hang  on  and  as  their  fol- 
lowers turn  to  younger  leaders,  they  grow 
bitter,  deeming  the  world  ungrateful.  Or  if 
they  do  stop  they  know  not  what  to  do.  I  have 
insured  myself  against  unhappiness.  I  have 
built  my  new  interest  while  the  old  still  calls 
me,  and  there  I  shall  be  happy  when  I  can  be 
active  no  longer. ' ' 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  hardly  any- 
one calls  Miss  Shaw ' '  Doctor. ' '  She  has  earned 
the  title  twice;  but  to  the  great  majority  of  her 
friends  and  adherents  she  is  "  Miss  "  Shaw. 
Many  do  not  know  that  she  has  a  legitimate 
right  to  the  title.  Perhaps  they  will  when  she 
gets  to  the  police  force.  Despite  her  words 
about  retiring  to  Alnwick  Lodge,  she  is  at  pres- 
ent an  exceedingly  active  person.  With  the 
same  practical  foresight  which  planned  the  com- 
forts of  her  home,  she  has  gotten  ready  her 
political  platform  and  published  it,  so  as  to  fa- 
miliarise the  public  with  it  in  advance  in  order 
that  it  may  know  what  she  stands  for.  Among 
her  planks  are  the  popular  election  of  Senators ; 
reciprocity  with  Canada;  the  tariff  revision 
downwards;  a  national  child-labour  law;  a  law 
regulating  the  hours  of  work  for  women;  a  uni- 


ANNA  HOWARD  SHAW  251 

versal  marriage  law;  economy  in  naval  and  mili- 
tary expenditures;  reformed  civil  service  re- 
form; absolute  voidity  for  elections  where  cor- 
ruption is  proved;  all  bills  for  the  national 
good;  none  that  would  benefit  a  State,  district 
or  individual  at  the  expense  of  others. 

Senators  and  representatives,  Miss  Shaw  be- 
lieves, are  too  local  in  their  interests.  They 
lobby  in  behalf  of  a  small  group  of  people  in- 
stead of  in  the  interest  of  the  country  as  a  whole. 
She  believes  that  uniform  divorce  and  marriage 
laws  are  absolutely  necessary,  and  she  also 
adds: 

"  The  universal  marriage  law  should  forbid 
all  marriages  between  people  who  are  under 
eighteen  years  of  age  and  should  require  proof 
of  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  fitness  of  both 
parties  before  the  ceremony  is  performed." 

She  is  also  a  strong  believer  in  the  establish- 
ment of  universal  peace,  which  she  says  almost 
all  women  would  advocate. 

She  firmly  believes  in  democracy,  and  from 
the  first  has  been  one  of  the  women  to  make  a 
stand  for  suffrage  for  all  women,  instead  of  a 
restricted  suffrage  in  favour  of  moneyed  women 
who  are  property  owners. 

And,  although  there  are  many  suffragists 
who  would  accept  the  concession  of  a  vote  for 
taxpaying  women  as  an  opening  wedge  for  the 


252      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

greater  concession  of  votes  for  all  women,  Miss 
Shaw  has  sturdily  opposed  any  acceptance  of 
such  halfway  measures.  "  We  want,"  she  says, 
"  all  women  to  vote,"  and  if  we  do,  it  will  mean 
a  real  republic  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  country. 

To  the  usual  masculine  objections  to  woman 
suffrage.  Miss  Shaw's  alert  mind  and  ready  wit 
give  pointed  answers. 

'  *  You  men  say  that  we  will  neglect  our  fami- 
lies if  we  vote,"  she  said  to  one  male  audience. 
' '  You  state  that  we  will  grow  coarse  and  not  be 
attractive  to  you;  you  say  that  we  will  always 
cast  our  ballot  wrongly.  Very  well !  Does  the 
government  demand  of  a  man,  when  he  starts 
to  vote,  that  he  shall  promise  not  to  neglect  his 
family,  that  he  will  stay  attractive  to  the  other 
sex  and  always  cast  his  vote  right?  " 

Her  platform  shows  a  mind  alert  and  active, 
conversant  with  everyday  national  problems 
and  looking,  as  she  claims  to  look,  toward  the 
benefit  of  the  country  as  a  whole,  rather  than 
special  legislation  in  favour  of  one  class. 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG 


When  the  news  of  the  election  of  Mrs.  Ella 
Flagg  Young  to  the  superintendency  of  the 
schools  of  the  city  of  Chicago  flashed  across 
the  country  there  followed  a  sensation.  A 
woman  superintendent  was  a  thing  unknown  in 
history.  That  one  should  have  been  elected  in 
a  city  the  size  of  Chicago  marked  a  radical  step 
from  educational  tradition.  The  daily  press 
was  busy  for  a  week  explaining  in  detail  the 
answer  to  the  prevalent  question  "  How  did  it 
ever  happen?  "  The  answer  contained  two 
theories  and  the  circumstances  seemed  to  war- 
rant a  faith  in  either.  For  three  months  Chi- 
cago had  been  in  a  state  of  civil  war  regarding 
the  election  of  a  superintendent  of  education. 
Theoretically  the  election  rested  with  the  Board 
of  Education,  the  members  of  which  were  im- 
partial citizens  selected  for  their  office  because 
of  their  ability  to  see  things  from  an  unbiased 
point  of  view.  In  reality  the  situation  was  one 
common  in  great  cities;  the  superintendency 
was  not  a  matter  of  the  Board  of  Education  but 
of  a  political  factional  fight.    So  fiercely  did  the 

255 


256      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

battle  rage  that  the  inert  citizens  awoke  to  listen 
to  the  mud- slinging  and  wrangling  between  the 
factions  interested.  After  three  months  of  war- 
fare the  Board  of  Education  began  to  be  un- 
easy. There  didn't  seem  to  be  any  likelihood 
of  either  side  winning  out,  and  the  Board  occu- 
pied an  unenviable  position.  As  a  private 
matter  it  was  all  very  well  to  have  a  few  po- 
litical interests,  but  as  a  Board  it  had  a  certain 
standard  of  dignity  to  maintain  and  it  was  be- 
ginning to  appear  slightly  ridiculous.  It  de- 
cided to  elect  a  superintendent.  The  wrangling 
and  mud-slinging  had  succeeded  in  reducing  the 
candidates  for  the  position  to  six,  five  men  and 
one  woman.  The  Board  invited  the  six  to  come 
before  it  and  state  their  qualifications  for  of- 
fice. Politeness  is  supposed  to  give  ladies  pref- 
ence  in  such  matters,  but  evidently  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Education  lacked  training  in  the  finer 
courtesies.  The  candidates  appeared  before  the 
Board  in  alphabetical  order  and  Mrs.  Young 
was  heard  last.  The  Board  was  hot,  tired,  un- 
comfortable and  puzzled.  Mrs.  Young  came  be- 
fore it  cool,  calm  and  collected.  She  began  to 
speak,  not  of  herself  but  of  the  schools  of  the 
city  of  Chicago,  what  they  were  and  what  she 
believed  they  could  be.  In  a  short  time  the  hot, 
tired,  uneasy  men  were  listening.  A  little  later 
they  hung  on  her  words.    It  was  two  hours  be- 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  257 

fore  she  finished,  and  when  she  did  the  men  were 
no  longer  uneasy.  They  had  found  a  woman  to 
take  the  problem  off  their  hands.  Where  they 
had  speculated  she  knew.  She  knew  their  prob- 
lem and  she  sympathised ;  she  knew  the  dissen- 
sion in  the  teaching  force  and  she  outlined  the 
remedy.  The  Board  asked  no  question  which 
she  could  not  answer.  And  her  earnestness  car- 
ried conviction  that  she  would  do  what  she 
promised.  Because  of  the  impression  she  made 
upon  them  they  elected  her. 

The  other  explanation  is  shorter.  The  poli- 
ticians, unable  to  agree,  permitted  the  Board 
of  Education  to  elect  Mrs.  Young  as  the  least 
offensive  compromise  candidate,  and  one  not 
likely  to  trouble  them.  According  to  conviction 
the  members  of  the  inquiring  public  accepted 
one  explanation  or  the  other  and  promptly 
asked  a  second  question : 

''  Who  is  Mrs.  Young?  " 

The  educational  world  knew  Mrs.  Young  well. 
But  outside  Chicago  the  general  public  knew 
very  little  of  her.  Her  long  history  in  Chicago 
schools  had  up  to  this  time  been  free  from  dra- 
matic episode  and  like  many  other  worthy 
people  she  escaped  public  notice  by  doing  the 
thing  before  her  with  all  her  might  and  avoid- 
ing side  issues. 

It  is  fifty-two  years  since  she  entered  the  Chi- 


258      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

cago  school  system.  Handicapped  by  ill-health, 
she  had  been  educated  at  home  by  her  mother, 
who  in  her  belief  that  her  daughter  would  not 
live  to  maturity  sought  to  shield  her  from  con- 
tact with  life.  Before  she  was  seventeen,  how- 
ever, the  death  of  her  parents  forced  her  into 
the  world,  and  at  that  early  age  she  was  ap- 
pointed to  a  grade  teachership  in  the  Foster 
School.  In  eight  months  she  was  promoted  to 
be  Head  Assistant  of  the  Grammar  department 
in  the  same  school.  One  year  and  a  half  later 
a  School  of  Practice  was  opened  in  connection 
with  the  Chicago  Normal  School.  At  twenty 
Ella  Flagg  was  its  first  principal.  The  remark- 
able appointment  of  a  girl  of  twenty  as  head 
of  a  school  intended  as  a  model  for  study  on 
the  part  of  teachers  in  training  indicates  the 
unusual  teaching  ability  which  Mrs.  Young  pos- 
sesses. Six  years  later,  in  1871,  she  became  a 
teacher  in  one  of  the  City  High  Schools.  In 
1874  she  was  called  to  the  Normal  School  as 
teacher  of  mathematics.  From  1886  to  1887  she 
returned  to  the  elementary  schools,  acting  as 
principal  of  grammar  schools.  In  the  latter 
year  she  was  elected  district  superintendent, 
and  in  this  office  she  served  twelve  years.  At 
the  end  of  this  time  she  took  her  first  decisive 
step  toward  independence  in  educational  meth- 
ods.   Very  abruptly  she  resigned  her  superin- 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  259 

tendency,  stating  that  under  existing  conditions 
district  superintendents  were  mere  figureheads 
"without  authority  or  opportunity  for  real  edu- 
cational work.  Her  resignation  caused  a  mild 
flutter  in  educational  circles,  but  hardly  had  it 
been  made  public  when  President  Harper  of 
the  University  of  Chicago  offered  her  a  full 
professorship  in  the  University. 

''  But  I  haven't  a  Doctor's  degree,"  said  Mrs. 
Young. 

^'  It's  the  woman  I  want,  not  the  degree," 
retorted  the  President. 

Mrs.  Young  refused.  Years  before,  when 
principals'  examinations  had  been  instituted  as 
a  part  of  the  city  requirements  for  certificate, 
she  as  acting  principal  was  entitled  to  receive 
a  similar  certificate  on  the  basis  of  experience. 
She  declined,  was  the  first  woman  to  take  the 
examination  and  received  the  certificate  in  the 
regulation  way.  Likewise  she  declined  to  serve 
the  University  of  Chicago  as  a  professor  until 
she  had  obtained  her  degree.  She  did  consent 
to  serve  in  the  meantime  as  Associate  Profes- 
sorial Lecturer.  While  she  served  a  year  in 
this  capacity  she  studied,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  year  she  passed  her  examinations,  received 
the  degree  of  doctor  of  philosophy  and  accepted 
a  professorship  in  the  Department  of  Educa- 
tion.   She  stayed  at  the  University  four  years. 


260      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

She  was  an  inspiring  teacher  and  she  employed 
unique  methods  in  dealing  with  the  young  men 
and  women.  Always  she  believed  in  fostering 
the  social  side  of  the  University  life,  and  while 
there  she  instituted  the  innovation  of  serving 
tea  and  cake  during  class.  When  she  resigned 
her  professorship  in  1904  it  was  to  travel 
abroad  and  study  further.  By  this  time  a  num- 
ber of  people  were  interested  in  her  remarkable 
career  and  several  offered  to  finance  her  trip. 
Like  the  principal's  certificate  and  the  pro- 
fessorship, these  offers  were  declined.  Mrs. 
Young  preferred  first  and  last  to  pay  her  own 
way.  During  her  absence  she  visited  schools 
in  France,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  England. 
The  schools  of  Chicago  missed  her.  While  she 
was  away,  in  August,  1905,  she  was  appointed 
principal  of  the  Chicago  Normal  School,  and 
she  returned  to  assume  that  position. 

It  was  while  she  was  at  the  Normal  School 
that  the  city  generally  seemed  to  awaken  to 
some  realisation  of  her  power  as  an  educator. 
The  Normal  School  was  not  remarkable  when 
she  became  its  manager,  but  in  a  short  time  it 
began  to  improve,  and  in  four  years  it  had 
grown  into  the  progressive  Teachers'  College 
it  is  to-day.  From  the  Normal  College  she  was 
called  to  the  superintendency. 

This  summarises  her  regular  work,  the  work 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  261 

for  which  the  city  paid  her.  It  is  impossible 
to  summarise  the  other  work  which  Mrs.  Young 
undertook,  the  unpaid  work  outside  city  juris- 
diction which  has  made  her  such  a  power  with 
the  teaching  force.  Always  she  has  been  a 
leader  among  the  teachers.  She  was  the  first 
president  of  the  Schoolmistresses'  Club  of  Il- 
linois, through  which  she  met  not  only  Chicago 
teachers  but  teachers  from  small  towns  through- 
out the  State,  who  came  to  the  meetings  in 
search  of  help  in  their  work.  In  1889  she  was 
appointed  by  the  Governor  as  a  member  of  the 
State  Board  of  Education,  and  she  held  this 
office  for  twenty-five  years,  reappointed  by  suc- 
cessive Governors.  It  was  only  when  her  du- 
ties as  superintendent  of  schools  for  Chicago 
prevented  her  from  attending  the  State  board 
meetings  that  she  resigned.  It  is  said  that  she 
organised  an  odd  club  of  superintendents,  and 
other  officials,  who  met  at  her  residence  to  dis- 
cuss educational  problems,  and  it  is  certain  that 
whether  organised  or  not,  many  gatherings  of 
this  kind  were  held  in  her  home,  where  Mrs. 
Young  welcomed  them,  and  true  to  her  belief 
in  socialising  educational  matters,  served  re- 
freshments. About  1902  a  band  of  teachers 
who  had  worked  under  her  and  with  her  organ- 
ised the  Ella  Flagg  Young  Club,  named  in  her 
honour. 


262      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

The  position  of  superintendent  of  schools  in 
the  city  of  Chicago  is  no  sinecure.  The  total 
value  of  the  school  property  in  the  year  in  which 
Mrs.  Young  took  office  was  forty-two  million 
three  hundred  sixty  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  dollars.  The  annual  expenditures 
totalled  over  twelve  million.  There  were  six 
thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-six  teachers, 
five  hundred  and  thirty- four  of  whom  were  men. 
The  schools  numbered  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  and  the  pupils  two  hundred  and  ninety 
thousand. 

In  addition  the  Board  of  Education  and  the 
teaching  body  were  divided  by  the  most  serious 
dissensions.  Education  was  suffering  from  lack 
of  attention  while  its  directors  engaged  in  civil 
war. 

It  was  shortly  after  her  appointment  to  office, 
while  she  was  still  adjusting  these  warring  fac- 
tions, that  I  visited  Chicago.  I  had  an  appoint- 
ment to  see  Mrs.  Young  and  I  waited  her  arrival 
in  the  anteroom  of  the  superintendent's  office. 
After  half  an  hour  the  door  opened.  Straight 
through  the  doorway,  looking  neither  to  the 
right  nor  left,  shot  a  gray-haired,  small  woman, 
clad  in  a  dark  tailored  suit.  It  was  impossible 
to  observe  more,  for  so  quickly  did  she  move 
that  in  a  moment  she  was  through  the  crowd 
and  in  her  private  sanctum.    There  was  another 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  263 

wait  and  then  I  was  shown  in.  Mrs.  Young- 
looked  up  from  a  batch  of  letters  she  was 
signing. 

"  Won't  you  sit  down?  "  she  said.  I  sat. 
She  looked  up  at  me  inquiringly,  but  I  sat  per- 
sistently silent  until  she  put  down  her  pen, 
smiled  and  said : 

''  You  wanted  to  interview  me,  didn't  you! 
Well,  I  warn  you  I'm  not  a  bit  good  at  being 
interviewed.  I  can't  talk.  Why  don't  you  in- 
terview Mrs.  Henrotin  or  one  of  the  women  who 
can  tell  interesting  things  1  ' ' 

'*  The  main  reason,"  I  retorted,  ''  is  that  I 
don't  want  to  interview  anybody  but  you." 

' '  Well, ' '  she  said  resignedly, ' '  can  you  make 
it  short?  " 

I  took  out  a  list  of  fourteen  questions  I 
wanted  to  ask  and  her  face  brightened.  About 
halfway  through  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education  called  Mrs.  Young  to  decide  a  point 
at  a  committee  meeting.  She  went,  returned  in 
five  minutes  and  continued  answering  questions. 
A  second  call  took  her  away  ten  minutes.  She 
came  back  looking  distinctly  worried. 

"  You  see  how  busy  I  am,"  she  said  apolo- 
getically, "  and,"  she  added  whimsically,  ''  I 
am  sixty-four  years  old. ' ' 

I  knew  her  age,  but  I  had  not  thought  of  it. 
The  main  impression  she  had  made  on  me  from 


264      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

her  entrance  through  the  door  until  the  end  of 
the  interview  was  of  a  small  intensely  dynamic 
body.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  connect  age 
with  anything  dynamic.  Some  writer,  in  dilat- 
ing upon  her  able  school  management,  has 
stated  that  she  has  '*  eliminated  the  sex  ele- 
ment." It  is  perhaps  true  that  the  superin- 
tendent's office  in  Chicago  is  not  so  overwhelm- 
ingly feminine  as  the  usual  superintendent's 
office  is  so  overwhelmingly  masculine, — Mrs. 
Young  may  have  removed  the  offence  of  sex 
emphasis,  but  personally  Mrs.  Young  is  neither 
masculine  nor  neutral;  she  is  distinctly  fem- 
inine, and  the  impression  of  her  womanhood  was 
only  secondary  to  the  impression  of  her  dynamic 
force.  The  effect  of  this  feminine  quality  is 
seen  in  the  results  of  her  work  in  its  attention 
to  small  but  pertinent  detail  as  well  as  to  larger 
issues. 

In  one  year  after  her  taking  office  the  press 
all  over  the  country  was  commenting  upon  the 
change  wrought  in  Chicago  school  matters. 
Between  the  former  superintendent  and  the 
teaching  force  there  had  been  a  serious  breach 
which  completely  hampered  all  school  manage- 
ment. Between  the  Board  of  Education  and 
the  teachers  was  another  breach,  so  that  the 
teachers  as  a  whole  were  restless,  dissatisfied 
and  unhappy.     At  the  end  of  that  first  year 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  265 

warring  factions  had  become  passive.  An  in- 
quiry among  the  teachers  throughout  the  city 
established  the  superintendent's  popularity. 

'*  Look  at  us,"  said  one  earnest  woman. 
"  Can't  you  see  that  we  are  happy  in  our 
work?  " 

"  You  ought  to  be  among  us  now,"  remarked 
one  of  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Education 
to  a  former  colleague.  "  Trouble?  Not  a  bit 
of  it.  We  don't  know  the  meaning  of  the  word 
without  looking  in  a  dictionary." 

It  is  noteworthy  that  Mrs.  Young  accom- 
plished this  without  taking  sides.  Having  as- 
sumed office  she  began  work  for  the  children  of 
Chicago.  In  the  war  that  had  preceded  her  the 
children  had  been  overshadowed.  Mrs.  Young 
rescued  them  from  the  darkness  and  set  them 
in  the  light.  Somewhat  shamefacedly  educators 
realised  that  their  business  was  first  of  all  the 
schools,  and  conscience-stricken  they  set  to 
work.  These  are  some  of  the  things  Mrs.  Young 
did  for  the  children  during  her  first  year. 

She  found  a  system  of  artificial  ventilation 
in  school  buildings  which  succeeded  in  produc- 
ing foul  air.  The  system  forbade  the  opening 
of  windows.  Mrs.  Young  ordered  them  opened 
from  top  and  bottom  and  the  rooms  aired. 

She  organised  fresh-air  classes  for  pupils 
who  needed  an  extra  amount  of  oxygen,  but  she 


266      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

forbade  the  mention  of  disease  in  connection 
with  these  special  classes. 

She  selected  ten  songs  to  be  known  as  Chi- 
cago's school  songs.  These  were  taught  to 
every  school  child  in  the  city,  so  that  at  any 
gathering  of  schools  the  children  met  singing 
the  same  songs,  a  common  possession. 

She  revised  the  course  of  study.  Far  from 
being  autocratic  about  this  most  important 
work,  she  called  to  her  her  superintendents, 
group  of  principals  and  Normal  School  teach- 
ers, and  a  group  of  the  actual  teachers  of  grade 
children  to  plan  with  her  the  most  practical 
course  to  be  devised.  In  the  revised  course  of 
study  two  things  were  marked.  The  first  was 
the  introduction  of  handwork  to  be  taught  in 
every  grade,  and  in  Teachers'  College.  The 
second  was  a  course  to  be  taught  in  the  elemen- 
tary schools  to  be  known  as  "  Chicago."  This 
course  was  to  make  the  children  intelligent 
about  their  own  city.  It  included  local  geog- 
raphy, industries,  history,  method  of  govern- 
ment and  some  idea  of  the  political  situation. 
Whenever  possible,  Mrs.  Young  advocated  illus- 
trating this  course  by  visits  through  the  city. 

So  much  for  the  children.  For  the  teachers 
of  Chicago  that  first  year  did  the  following: 

The  salaries  of  the  elementary  teachers  were 
raised.    The  salaries  of  High  School  teachers 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  267 

were  raised.  The  maximum  salary  for  prin- 
cipals was  raised.  Teachers  who  were  absent 
because  of  illness  had  been  paid  their  salaries 
less  their  substitutes'  pay  for  two  weeks.  Mrs. 
Young  made  the  two  weeks,  ten.  To  every 
school  which  needed  it  she  gave  a  clerk  to  han- 
dle mechanical  work,  correspondence,  reports, 
etc.,  thus  relieving  the  principal  and  permitting 
her  to  give  her  time  to  the  work  for  which  she 
was  appointed,  the  supervision  of  the  teaching. 
She  arranged  that  every  large  school  should 
have  an  extra  teacher  to  supplement  the  teach- 
ing force.  She  had  a  swimming  pool  installed 
in  Teachers'  College.  She  opened  her  office 
door  to  the  teaching  force  of  the  city,  inviting 
them  to  come  to  discuss  with  her  any  subject  of 
interest  to  teacher,  schools  or  pupils. 

Towards  the  end  of  Mrs.  Young's  first  year 
of  superintendency  the  teachers  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  planned  to  give  a  reception  to  com- 
memorate the  occasion.  Men  and  women  vied 
with  each  other  in  making  the  affair  a  success. 
The  teaching  force  as  a  whole,  six  thousand 
strong,  entered  into  the  event  with  an  enthusi- 
asm that  resulted  in  a  demonstration  the  lik6 
of  which  Chicago  nor  any  other  city  has  seen. 
The  Auditorium  Theatre,  where  the  reception 
was  held,  seats  some  four  thousand  five  hundred 
people.     On  the  night  of  the  reception  seven 


268      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

thousand  people  crowded  into  the  building  and 
then  the  doors  were  shut  to  exclude  hundreds 
more.  In  the  centre  of  the  great  auditorium 
a  dais  had  been  erected,  and  as  the  orchestra 
struck  up  a  stirring  march  two  hundred  and 
fifty  teachers,  representing  every  public  school 
in  the  city,  marched  from  the  main  entrance  to 
the  dais.  In  their  hands  they  held  long  bands 
of  ribbon,  and  holding  these  they  lined  the  way 
Mrs.  Young  must  pass,  acting  as  a  guard  to 
keep  the  audience  from  pressing  toward  her. 
Between  these  ribbon  guards  marched  two  hun- 
dred schoolgirls,  each  bearing  a  long-stemmed 
American  Beauty  rose.  At  a  signal  they  turned 
and,  holding  the  roses  high,  formed  an  arched 
bower.  Through  that  aisle  crowned  with  flow- 
ers came  Mrs.  Young  alone.  In  silence  the 
spectators  watched  her  until  she  mounted  the 
dais.  Then  as  the  orchestra  struck  up  "  Il- 
linois," thousands  of  handkerchiefs  were  tossed 
into  the  air,  and  led  by  the  children  the  mighty 
throng  broke  into  song. 

"  When  you  heard  our  city  calling, 

Mrs.  Young,  Mrs.  Young! 

When  our  hope  was  slowly  falling, 

Mrs,  Young,  Mrs.  Young! 

When  our  fate  was  poised  anew. 

When  for  justice  we  would  sue, 

Then  our  eyes  were  turned  to  you, 

Mrs.  Young,  Mrs.  Young!" 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  269 

There  was  no  speechmaking.  On  the  dais  she 
stood  listening,  listening  to  the  spontaneous  ac- 
knowledgment of  her  years  of  service,  her  face 
illumined  and  radiant. 

In  that  same  month,  the  month  of  June,  1"910, 
there  was  a  meeting  of  the  National  Education 
Association  at  Boston.  When  Mrs.  Young  first 
attended  a  meeting  of  the  National  Education 
Association  it  was  in  Ogdensburg.  At  Ogdens- 
burg  Mrs.  Young  sat  in  the  gallery  and  looked 
down  on  an  organisation  of  men  carrying  on 
business  for  the  promoting  of  education. 
Women  were  not  then  permitted  upon  the  floor 
of  the  National  Education  Association  meetings 
and  in  them  they  had  no  active  part.  Women 
were  at  that  time  merely  teachers ;  no  principal- 
ship  was  ever  conferred  except  upon  a  man. 
But  by  the  time  of  the  Boston  convention  mat- 
ters had  changed.  Women  had  become  princi- 
pals, and  good  principals ;  women  had  even  be- 
come assistant  superintendents.  Women  on  the 
teaching  force  outnumbered  the  men  about  ten 
to  one,  and  yet  true  to  old  traditions  men  still 
held  control  of  the  offices  of  the  Association. 
June,  1910,  marked  a  revolution  in  the  Asso- 
ciation. To  the  astonishment  of  the  public  and 
the  utter  surprise  of  the  majority  of  men  in  the 
Association,  Mrs.  Young  was  elected  presi- 
dent   by    a    vote    of   two    to    one,    from    the 


270      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

floor,  defeating  the  man  who  was  the  official 
nominee. 

The  educational  world  had  now  given  Mrs. 
Young  all  it  had  to  offer.  She  was  at  the  same 
time  head  of  the  school  system  in  the  second 
largest  city  in  the  country  and  of  the  largest 
association  of  teachers  and  educators.  The 
skeptical  public  waited  for  the  usual  develop- 
ment. For  when  men  or  women  reach  the 
zenith  in  any  profession  it  has  become  quite  cus- 
tomary for  them  to  spend  the  greater  portion  of 
their  time  not  in  actual  service  but  in  telling 
other  people  how  they  did  it.  Mrs.  Young 
proved  an  exception.  Not  only  did  she  continue 
to  devote  her  time  to  the  schools  of  Chicago, 
but  the  representatives  of  the  press  who  called 
at  her  office  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to  see 
her.  Finally  she  adopted  a  definite  policy  with 
regard  to  interviews. 

'*  My  time  belongs  to  the  city  of  Chicago," 
she  said  firmly.  ''  I  have  no  time  for  papers 
nor  for  magazines.  The  only  information  I  will 
give  personally  is  that  which  is  due  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  city  and  such  statements  will  always 
be  given  to  the  daily  press." 

And  inter\dewers  who  want  other  informa- 
tion get  it  elsewhere.    Mrs.  Young  is  busy. 

In  the  four  years  that  have  followed  the 
climax  of  that  first  Mrs.  Young's  glory  has  in 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  271 

no  wise  diminished.  There  is  nothing  that  her 
world  can  offer  her ;  she  can  but  hold  what  she 
has  attained.  She  is  sustaining  well  the  record 
of  her  first  year.  In  addition  to  the  changes 
mentioned  she  established  two  years'  vocational 
work  in  High  Schools  and  has  planned  pre- 
vocational  work  for  backward  children  in  the 
grades.  She  instituted  a  two-year  commercial 
course  in  High  Schools.  She  placed  a  kinder- 
garten in  almost  every  school.  She  extended 
manual  training  and  domestic  science  so  that 
every  child  could  be  instructed  in  these  arts. 
She  introduced  a  custom  of  employing  skilled 
workers,  both  men  and  women,  to  teach  trades 
and  technical  subjects  in  night  schools,  the  tech- 
nical departments  of  High  Schools,  and  the 
handicraft  departments  of  the  elementary 
schools.  She  introduced  women  deans  into 
High  Schools.  She  organised  teachers  and 
principals  into  councils  to  discuss  school  man- 
agement and  courses  of  study.  She  arranged 
financial  matters  so  that  principals,  when  or- 
dering supplies,  might  be  intelligent  as  to  the 
expenditure  of  their  appropriation.  She  con- 
tinued uninfluenced  by  any  agency  to  weigh 
women  and  men  in  the  same  balance  and  to 
mete  out  rewards  proportionately.  This  was 
such  a  new  thing  in  educational  circles  that 
the  sudden  prominence  of  women  in  Chicago 


272      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

school  matters  evoked  some  comment.  But  in- 
vestigation into  causes  showed  that  Mrs.  Young 
had  not  become  a  partisan  of  her  sex.  She  had 
simply  given  justice,  and  the  balance  of  power 
had  so  long  been  swayed  by  men  to  men  that 
justice  to  women  in  the  teaching  profession  was 
a  novelty. 

It  so  happened  that  some  six  months  after 
Mrs.  Young's  appointment  to  the  superintend- 
ency  I  was  in  Illinois  visiting.  In  one  of  the 
smaller  towns  I  met  a  man  of  influence  politi- 
cally who,  despite  the  distance  between,  kept  an 
active  attention  on  Chicago  matters.  Somewhat 
curiously  I  asked  what  he  thought  of  Mrs. 
Young.    He  chuckled  a  bit  ruefully. 

"  Oh,  Ella  Young,"  he  said.  ''  We  never  ex- 
pected to  elect  her.  We  did  it  at  the  last  minute 
because  we  couldn't  get  our  man.  We  compro- 
mised on  her,  expecting  to  shelve  her  in  a  year. 
And  now,"  he  added,  smiling  broadly,  albeit 
with  some  chagrin,  ''  we've  got  her  and  we've 
got  to  keep  her,  I  guess.  We  never  supposed 
she  could  do  it. ' ' 

Had  ''  they  "  supposed  it,  the  powers  that 
suffered  her  to  become  a  compromise  candidate, 
Mrs.  Young  would  never  have  occupied  the  su- 
perintendency.  Even  after  her  successful  term 
in  office  they  decided  to  oust  her.  In  the  summer 
of  1913  Mrs.  Young  found  matters  so  difficult 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  273 

that  she  offered  her  resignation.  The  Board  of 
Education  refused  it,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
immediate  cause  of  Mrs.  Young's  action  was 
an  effort  on  the  part  of  certain  members  of  the 
Board  to  dictate  the  selection  of  text-books,  a 
prerogative  which  belonged  to  the  superin- 
tendent. The  Board  refused  to  accept  a  resig- 
nation, but  in  December,  1913,  at  the  time 
of  her  re-election,  there  was  waged  a  battle 
that  no  one  besides  Cliicago  politicians  was 
able  to  understand.  Mrs.  Young  had  made 
a  record  as  superintendent  that  had  set  a  pace 
for  educators  throughout  the  nation;  Mrs. 
Young  had  faithfully  filled  every  requirement 
of  her  office.  Yet  with  the  whole  country  hon- 
ouring her,  with  Chicago  schools  recognised  as 
among  the  most  progressive  in  the  land,  with 
the  body  of  teachers  devoted  to  her,  willing  to 
work  with  her  and  for  her,  the  men  "  who  ex- 
pected to  shelve  her  in  a  year  "  made  the  at- 
tempt. Despite  them,  she  was  re-elected,  but 
under  such  conditions  that  she  felt  it  impera- 
tive that  she  send  in  her  resignation.  The  day 
that  her  resignation  went  in  the  women  of  Chi- 
cago rose.  Women  counted  little  in  the  city 
when  Mrs.  Young  entered  office,  but  in  the  year 
of  her  re-election  they  had  the  franchise, — and 
political  power.  The  teaching  force  is  composed 
mainly  of  women  and  it  stayed  loyal  to  Mrs. 


274      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

Young.  Added  to  this  were  the  women's  clubs, 
the  settlements  and  last  but  not  least  the  moth- 
ers of  the  children  in  the  schools. 

These  newly  enfranchised  citizens  did  not 
mince  matters.  The  Women's  Association  of 
Commerce,  one  of  the  first  women's  organisa- 
tions to  protest  against  the  removal  of  Mrs. 
Young,  stated  publicly  that ' '  it  believed  that  by 
her  removal  the  Board  of  Education,  servants 
of  the  people,  had  betrayed  a  public  trust  and 
that  Chicago  men  and  women  stood  humiliated 
before  the  world. 

''  It  believed  that  a  great  wrong  had  been 
committed  against  children,  parents,  teachers 
of  Chicago,  against  the  whole  educational  sys- 
tem of  America ;  against  a  great  woman. 

''  It  believed  that  as  Chicago  is  the  vortical 
centre  of  social  and  industrial  unrest,  so  is  it 
the  dynamic  centre  of  forces  constructing  the 
new  human  era,  that  it  shall  be  untainted  by 
vicious  politics  when  men  and  women  shall  be 
poUtically,  socially,  industrially  and  commer- 
cially equal. 

"  It  believed  that  passive  acceptance  of  the 
deposition  of  Mrs.  Young  was  collusion  with 
the  destructive  forces  of  society  that  would 
forever  delay  the  establishment  of  a  new  era 
among  us ;  that  passive  acceptance  was  betrayal 
of  the  trust  of  all  the  world. 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  275 

**  No  middle  course  was  there  for  us  to  tread. 
Either  we  were  aligned  with  progress  or  we 
were  aligned  with  ignorance  and  retrogression. 
By  our  creed  we  had  proclaimed  our  intellectual 
and  moral  standards.  We  believed,  we  said, 
that  with  women  lay  the  solution  of  our  great 
civic,  industrial  and  political  problems.  Here 
was  occasion  to  test  the  integrity  of  our  creed. 
Were  we  not  organised  for  service  not  re- 
stricted to  a  small  coterie,  to  the  community, 
not  even  to  America? 

"  And  in  conformity  to  our  tenets,  the  Asso- 
ciation protested  against  the  removal  of  Mrs. 
Young. ' ' 

The  Women's  Association  of  Commerce 
voiced  the  sentiments  of  the  women  of  the  city. 
Mrs.  Young's  removal  was  not  a  personal  mat- 
ter. It  represented  the  injustice  that  had  been 
meted  out  for  centuries  by  men  to  the  women 
they  governed.  And  the  women  who  had  the 
vote  declined  longer  to  accept  injustice.  A  Com- 
mittee representing  the  spirit  of  all  the  organ- 
ised women  in  the  city  waited  on  the  Mayor. 
Meetings  were  held,  the  daily  press  contained 
columns  of  protest.  ^  Mrs.  Young's  resignation 
was  not  accepted.  Listead,  all  the  necessary 
steps  toward  making  her  re-acceptance  of  office 
an  affair  concerning  which  there  could  not  be 
the  least  doubt  were  taken  by  a  chastened  and 


276      AMERICAN  WOMEN  IN  CIVIC  WORK 

humbled  Board  of  Education.  The  politicians 
of  Chicago  were  beaten  by  a  woman,  and  by 
a  woman  nearly  seventy  years  of  age,  whom 
they  had  coolly  calculated  could  be  "  shelved  *' 
without  trouble. 

At  sixty-nine  Mrs.  Young  shows  no  sign  of 
weakness.  Both  mind  and  body  are  alert  and 
vigorous.  Daily  she  administers  the  school  af- 
fairs of  Chicago  with  as  sure  a  touch  and  as 
firm  as  when  she  entered  office. 

Almost  all  her  life  Mrs.  Young  has  been  a 
public  servant.  As  such  her  career  has  been 
frank  and  open,  without  a  suggestion  of  per- 
sonal ambition.  The  offices  she  has  occupied 
have  sought  her,  and  the  woman  has  always 
been  bigger  than  the  office,  even  to  the  superin- 
tendency.  But  the  private  life  of  Mrs.  Young, 
and  her  real  personality  as  an  indi\4dual,  are 
difficult  to  analyse,  since  in  all  individual  mat- 
ters she  is  as  reserved  as  she  is  frank  in  matters 
of  public  concern.  Commenting  on  this  re- 
serve, a  friend  of  twenty-five  years,  Dr.  J.  Rose 
Colby,  says : 

*'  In  the  midst  of  her  half  public  and  public 
life  is  her  personal  life  as  a  human  being,  rich 
in  all  the  ties  but  one  that  make  the  fulness  of 
life,  and  holding  them  all  with  a  loyalty  as  rare 
as  even  her  devotion  to  her  work  has  been.  .  .  . 
All  the  great  relationships  of  life  except  parent- 


ELLA  FLAGG  YOUNG  277 

hood  have  shaped  this  woman  and  informed  her 
vision.  Nay,  though  actual  parenthood  has  not 
come  to  her,  yet  the  mother  heart  was  her  en- 
dowment, and  whoever  has  seen  her  with  chil- 
dren or  heard  her  talk  of  them,  knows  that  one 
of  the  forces  that  have  given  her  power  and 
wisdom  as  a  teacher  and  a  guide  of  teachers  is 
the  deep  seat  of  motherliness  of  her.  .  .   . 

"  Her  power  to  make  friends  and  her  capacity 
for  friendship  have  enriched  her  own  life  and 
the  lives  of  others.  And  she  adds  a  charm  of 
high  spirits  of  banter,  and  of  humour  to  her 
serious  intercourse  with  friends." 


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